Destiny Island Adventures!
by kirabook
Summary: AU: Sora and Roxas are 4 year old twins that live on Destiny Islands. Read as dark secrets slowly unravel and their peaceful lives change forever when evil comes to take them. BBS spoilers. No Pairings. -Ven Older Brother-
1. New Girls in Town

_**BEFORE YOU READ**_

This fic is being rewritten! You can read this fic up to a certain point, but I'm rewriting it. The new version, in my opinion, is better.

s/9259549/1/Re-Destiny-Island-Adventures

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_**A/N: **_...This is my first fanfiction EVAR. I never thought I'd be writing anything... Just read others lovely stories. But, this idea here was stuck in my head since Friday and further glued itself while wishing with someone else that Sora had a brother. So, here it is. I don't know how it'll turn out, or if you think it's good. Also, this might have **_BBS spoilers_** so be wary.

I tried to get all the spelling and grammar stuff out, but I probably missed a lot. There are probably random commas too...

Anyway, enjoy! And I greatly greatly appreciate the help of AngelOfLostLight and CrimsonDarkness 0013. Not only do they have great stories (Check them out yeah?), but they're great to chat with too. PX Get's my brain moving! Enjoy... again!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too...

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**New Girls in Town**

All was a peaceful on Destiny Islands. As the morning slowly dawned, the sun beamed through windows, alerting early-birds that it was a new day.

Roxas slowly opened his eyes and stiffly sat up in his bed. He yawned blearily and stretched out his arms to shake off the rest of his morning stiffness. Now about half awake, he glanced around the room he shared with his twin brother Sora. Their room was divided evenly through the center. The only door was exactly in the middle of the split as was the only window. His side was a combination of black and white squares to replicate a race flag from a race track. His bed sheets were also black and white checkered, but had a big red racing car in the middle. His walls were tan, but had the same checked pattern through the middle. He also had a poster with a strange silver X located right above the head of his bed that was given to him by their older brother Ventus.

Sora's side of the room was in a similar fashion except his checkered pattern was red and yellow and the big race car on his bed was replaced with a space ship and it was blue. The poster in front of his bed was also different. Instead of being a strange shaped X, his was a silver crown. Another quite noticeable difference was that Roxas's side of the room was very neatly organized, not a thing out of place. On the other hand, Sora's side was cluttered with toys, balled paper, shoes, and other miscellaneous items.

Roxas pushed the covers off the rest of his body and carefully slid off his bed till his feet touched the floor. Roxas wondered why his mother bought them such high beds. They were only four after all. One slip and they could easily bust their heads open, though Sora has proved him wrong many times a day. Clad in plain red footies with the same strange X as a zipper, he made his way over to his brother's bed, carefully avoiding the many pointy objects that littered his side of the room. _'He's going to get into so much trouble when mommy see's his side of the room, and I'll be there to watch!' _Roxas thought evilly. Eventually, he made it to the other side successfully, no puncture wounds in site.

It was pretty much his job to wake Sora up every morning. He always got up before he did and Sora never listened to their Mom or Ventus when they attempted to wake him. He skillfully climbed up Sora's bed and softly fell on his knees as he leaned over Sora's face.

"Sora, wake up. Remember we have to meet everyone on play island for the ultimate sparring match!" Roxas said as he softly shook him. Sora slowly opened his eyes, squinting a little as he adjusted to the morning brightness. Blue stared into blue for all of 10 seconds before Sora suddenly jammed his eyes shut and turned on his side.

"They can go on without me. I'm too sleepy." He replied tiredly.

Roxas huffed in annoyance as he thought up what ridiculous plan he would use to get Sora out of bed as he did every other morning. He thought he wouldn't have to since Sora seemed so excited about having an ultimate spar, but apparently he assumed wrong. Roxas moved to the other side of Sora and leaned against the wall. He knew exactly what to say to get Sora out of bed today and knew it would be a great show, at his brothers expense of course.

Roxas grinned in anticipation and sucked in his breath. "OH MY GOSH SORA! RIKU'S HERE AND HE'S EATING ALL OUR FAVORITE CEREAL AND TOAST MOMMY MADE!" He yelled inches from Sora's face. As soon as the last word left his mouth, Sora opened his eyes in a flash and shot up in bed, desperately attempting to remove the covers from his body.

"He can't eat all my Captain Crunch!" Sora yelled worriedly as he tumbled from the bed in a mess of covers. Finally free, Sora tried to run across his room to the door but his foot immediately made contact with a sharp jumping jack he left there the previous day. Yelping in pain, he jumped back only to land on the cord to his radio that was facing upwards. For about another minute or so, Sora continued to land on sharp objects that littered on his floor until he finally made it to Roxas's side of the room and immediately fell and landed on his back.

Laughing on Sora's bed, Roxas carefully got off and made his way to where Sora was lying flat on his back. Sora, in his blue footies with a crown zipper, was staring at the ceiling before a face identical to his entered his vision. Once again, blue stared into blue until Sora finally broke the silence with a question that had been racing through his mind since he fell.

"... Riku... isn't here is he?"

"Nope." Roxas replied.

"Then why did you say he was eating all my Captain Crunch?"

"Because you wouldn't get up."

"Couldn't you have just woken me up the normal way?" Sora asked sadly as he frowned.

"I already tried, but as usual, you said you were 'too sleepy' so I had to shout something stupid into you ear so you could get out of your bed like I have to every other morning. But the good part is, I got to see the usual morning variety of you screaming in pain because you don't clean your side of the room and leave sharp object everywhere. Also, if mommy see's this mess, you're going to get into a lot of trouble and I'll be there to watch and laugh." Roxas was trying his hardest not to burst out laughing. This morning Sora's act was ten times funnier than usual.

"How mean," Sora cried in mock sadness. "How could you do this to your twin brother! Do you enjoy seeing a face identical to yours in pain? You see this? This is a tear." Sora lifted a finger to trace a line where a previous tear fell. "Pretend it's your tear. Do you like crying 'cause I don't! Are you really my twin? Don't you feel the pain through our telephony?" Sora huffed.

"It's called telepathy. And we don't have telepathy. It's not real and you say that every morning when this happens." Roxas replied as he offered his hand to help Sora up. "I bet you're awake now huh." Roxas said as a grinned devilishly.

Sora took his hand and purposely glared at him. After Sora was securely standing, they both took to glaring at each other. The glared lasted for about a minute before Sora erupted into a fit of laughter.

"Sora, you idiot!" Roxas spoke. "We promised we would get there on time today! But no, you just had to sleep!"

"As long as we make it, they won't care right? Only Riku knows how to tell time besides you. And we might get there before he does" Sora replied as he finally let out a yawn that had yet to release.

"Whatever. Let's get ready so we can go." Roxas huffed, putting his hands on his hips like their mother did when they got in trouble.

"Yeah yeah." Sora lazily walked to the bathroom and began his daily morning routine.

* * *

Sora and Roxas ran as fast as they could to the docks. They were running ten minutes late for their ultimate sparring match with Riku, Wakka, and Tidus.

Sora was wearing a white t-shirt with blue lining around the neck, arms, and and the bottom. His shorts were red with maroon pockets on each side. He had on simple two strap yellow sandals. Roxas was also wearing a white t-shirt, but his lining was red. He was also wearing unbuckled tan overalls that hung down mid torso to reveal that his white t-shirt also had the same checked pattern as his room across the middle. He was wearing one strap black sandals.

As they reached the dock, both noticed that Riku's boat was already gone, so they rushed even faster. They got into their double boat and began paddling as fast as their arms would let them. With two people rowing, it went faster than the other boats. Just last year before Ventus left, he built them both a boat with a metal and a wooden rod between them so it would be a double boat. They used it as much as they could now since they were old enough to go to play island by themselves.

They finally made it to play island and hastily tied their boats to the dock. When finished, they both took off toward the beach, hoping Riku wouldn't be too mad at them for being late. When they got there, they found Wakka and Tidus laying on the sand, gazing at the sky, and Riku standing facing the ocean with his arms crossed. Riku slowly turned to them with a carefully blank expression. Both Roxas and Sora gulped and glanced at each other before turning back to look at Riku.

Riku was wearing his usual yellow vest and with blue lining and blue wrist bands. He had on black capris and was wearing lace less blue and white tennis shoes. He studied them them for a bit, keeping a very straight blank face. He knew it would intimidate them. His dad did it to him when he got into trouble.

They promised they would be on time this time, but still got here late. But he was sure he knew the reason why. Riku cleared his throat, causing them to jump and glance at each other again nervously. His dad did that to him too. He struggled to keep from grinning at their nervousness.

"So", he started, "mind telling me why you guys are so late? You promised to be here on time and you're hours late." He knew he was exaggerating, but he did so to further make them nervous. He knew he could never trick Roxas with that though, he was as smart as he was and knew how to tell time unlike his brother. But Sora was a a complete sap and fell for anything that he said. It never ceased to amaze him how gullible he was. He enjoyed watching him sweat.

Roxas was about to protest on how late they really were, but Riku sent him a silent signal to just go along with it. Though it took Roxas a minute to get the message, he did and quickly hid a grin that was threatening to turn into laughter. Sora on the other hand, had no idea what was going on and was sweating bullets trying to think up an excuse. Coming up with the quickest lie possible, he pointed an accusing finger at Roxas and stammered his fib.

"I-it's all Roxas's fault! H-he wouldn't wake up this morning and made us late!" He yelled. All amusement gone, Roxas whipped his head around to glare icily at his twin.

"You big fat liar! You were the one who wouldn't get up this morning and I had to tell you that Riku was taking your Captain Crunch for you to even get out of bed!" Roxas yelled back. Riku silently raised an eyebrow at the scene unfolding.

"Liar, Liar, your pants are on fire!" Sora replied in a musical tone and stuck out his tongue. Tidus and Wakka who were silently watching everything while laying on the beach broke into laughter and clutched their stomachs. Roxas was livid with anger by now. He turned his attention to the pile of wooden swords that were lying a couple of feet from them. He swiped the closest one available and pointed it threateningly at Sora.

"Take back what you said! I'm not a liar!" Roxas yelled angrily as he got into fighting position.

"Hey! That's no fair! I don't have a weapon!" Sora said just as angrily as he lifted his hands up in surrender and took a slow step backwards.

"Well we might as well just get on with our ultimate spar since Roxas already started." Riku said with no small amount of sarcasm. He tossed Tidus, Wakka, and Sora their wooden swords and handed Roxas the extra one he always preferred to fight with.

"We only have one rule this time," Riku said slowly, making sure he had everyone's attention. "Since Sora decided sleep is more important than our ultimate sparring match, we all only fight against him!" Riku finished loudly.

"Wha?" Sora stated confused. "But I wasn't- he was the one- that's no fair! That's... one, two, three, four... that's four against one!" Sora took another step back as he witnessed evil grins spread across their faces.

"Well," Roxas said, "Maybe next time you'll wake up on time!" He shouted as he advanced on Sora and swung his sword harshly against his wooden blade.

By the end of the ultimate match, everyone was worn out besides Riku. Tidus had went to get everyone free ice cream since his parents owned the local ice cream shop. They were waiting for him to get back. Sora, being the most worn out from fighting everyone else was napping peacefully next to Roxas who was watching puffy clouds go by and picking out the shapes of animals and objects.

"Hey guys! I gots some cool news!" Tidus yelled as he ran beck to where everyone was sitting. "I was goin to get tha ice cream and I saw two new girls! They were goin to tha mayors house!"

Everyone was really interested in this news. The last new person who came to the islands was Tidus. He was two and a half when he came. Sora and Roxas were only three while Riku and Wakka were four, so only they really remembered much. For Roxas and Sora, it was really the first time new people came to the islands, let alone two new people.

"How old are they?" Roxas asked in a curious light.

"They look 'bout you and Sora's age!" Tidus replied excited. Now even more curious they got up hastily and made their way to the dock. Roxas about half way there suddenly remembered Sora was sleeping and turned around to see him still there.

"Sora! Get up! We're going to see the new people!" He shouted.

"I'm too sleepy..." Sora said sleepily.

Roxas huffed in severe annoyance and started to make his way over to Sora till he saw a medium sized wave making its way to where Sora was currently laying. Grinning, Roxas carefully watched the wave inch closer as he prepared to once again, be entertained. Right before the wave was about to hit he yelled with all his might.

"OH MY GOSH SORA! LOOK! A SHARK IS EATING ALL OUR FAVORITE CEREAL AND OUR ICE CREAM TIDUS BROUGHT!"

Sora sat up hastily to shout his protest at the shark before he was suddenly smacked with a wave of salty water in his mouth. He stood up as fast as he could spitting and coughing before he turned around to his brother. Roxas was roaring in laughter and continuously wiping tears from his eyes with one hand while clutching his stomach with the other.

"Roxas... you..." Sora said through gritted teeth.

"It was your own fault ya know. I told you there were new girls on the islands! So come on and stop sleeping!" Roxas shouted as he turned around and took off toward the docks.

Sora was taken by surprise and ran after his brother. "Why didn't you just tell me before!"

* * *

The five boys had made it into town and were spying from behind a house watching the mayor's house from across the street. Two girls who looked about Sora and Roxas's age were standing near the road in front of the house talking to a woman who's back was facing toward them.

One girl had red hair that stopped just at her shoulders. She was wearing a layered white and pink dress that a purple stripe across the top white layer with purple X's at the bottom. She was also wearing white, pink, and purple sandals. The other girl had blonde hair that was much longer and was all combed to one side and rested on her shoulder. She was also wearing a layered dress, but hers was all white with only blue X's at the bottom. She was wearing double strapped blue sandals.

After a couple of minutes, the two girls hugged the unknown woman and the woman got into a car a little ways down the road and drove away. Someone called from the doorway of the house and the two girls walked in and the door shut. The boys waited a little bit before they determined nothing else was going to happen.

"Well, I have ta go home guys. My daddy is comin home from his trip and we goin have a big supper!" Tidus declared happily. The others laughed at his childish speech at three and a half.

"I'll have to get home to ya know. I've got some stuff to finish for school." Wakka stated. Both Roxas and Sora made fake gagging noises at the thought of school, though neither of them had even left daycare.

"Well bye guys!" Roxas and Sora said in unison.

"So, what are you two going to do?" Riku asked. They turned to face Riku, then glanced at each other before putting on fake grins.

"Well, we were just going to walk around a bit." Sora said nervously as he eyes looked everywhere but in Riku's direction.

"Oh, so you weren't going to try and take another peek at those girls?" Riku said. He already knew from the get go both Sora and Roxas were too curious to let a closed door stop them.

"Wha? How did you know?" Roxas asked in shock.

"Because I can read minds. Duh." Riku stated matter-a-factly.

"No you can't! Roxas said telephony doesn't exist!" Sora denied.

"It's telepathy! And Riku's lying stupid." Roxas corrected.

"Sure I am," Riku said, not really caring. "So, how are you going to get in?"

"We aren't going to get in. We're going to peek through a window." Sora said.

"Well then, let's go." Riku said, already tiptoeing to the other side of the street to the side of the house. They were all on the side of the house right under a first floor window. But none of them were tall enough to look into the house.

"We're too short." Sora said sadly.

"Hmm... I got it it!" Riku practically yelled.

"Tell us!" Roxas said.

"Okay, you two, get on your hands and knees right under the window." He instructed.

"But how will that help?" Sora asked confused.

"Just do it. Hurry up!" Following instructions, Sora and Roxas got on their hands and knees below the window.

"Now what." Roxas asked.

"Stay there and still." Riku said.

"Why do we need to- ARG! Riku! What are you doing?! You're too heavy!" Sora yelled.

"Be quiet idiot. I can see inside now." Riku was using Sora and Roxas as stepping blocks to see into the house.

"Get off! You're too heavy and it hurts!" Roxas shouted.

"What do you think they're doing Naminé?" A girl voice questioned.

Caught by surprise, Sora forgot about Riku's weight and collapsed. Causing Riku to fall backwards onto Roxas. All three were in a heap. The girls were chuckling fiercely. Realizing how stupid they looked, they hastily untangled themselves and stoop up to face the girls. Now seeing them up close, they could see the girls were also twins.

"Wow Naminé, look! They're twins too!" She said looking back and forth between Sora and Roxas. They were equally surprised to find another set of twins. It was rare on the islands.

"Hi, I'm Sora. This is my brother Roxas and that's our friend Riku." Sora said.

"I'm Kairi and this is Naminé. We just moved here to stay with our aunt and uncle." She replied.

"So where are you from?" Roxas asked curiously.

"It's a town called Radiant Garden. We really liked it there and mommy wouldn't tell us why we left, but she said bad stuff was happening." Kairi said sadly.

"Well don't worry!" Sora replied. "You'll like it here too! I promise."

"Really?" She asked, eyes beaming with hopefulness.

"Um.. yeah." Sora said as a blush crept up his face. He ducked his head, hoping no one saw, but Riku saw it all and smirked.

Roxas was having his own problem trying not to blush. Naminé had been staring at him the whole time and every time he met her eyes, he could feel his face redden.

"Hey, how about you guys help us pick flowers?" Kairi asked.

"No can do." Riku replied. "It's starting to get dark out and I was scolded last time I stayed out late. I'm sure there two will get in trouble if they stay out too late too." Riku said quickly. His father always told him that boys aren't supposed to pick flowers.

"Aw, that's too bad." Kairi stated.

"It's okay! You live here now so we can pick flowers another day!" Sora quickly whipped out.

"Great! Then I guess I'll see you another day." Kairi said as she smiled softly.

"Yup. Now let's go Sora!" Roxas said as he grabbed Sora's arm and ran in the direction of their house, dragging Sora behind him.

"Wait! I didn't say goodbye!" Sora yelled as his voice faded in the distance.

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Like it? Hate it? :I Who knows. I did enjoy writing it. Sora and Roxas would make adorable siblings. I think I gave them too big of a vocabulary though... Hmm... I also didn't give Wakka and Tidus younger outfits because I could think of anything DX

Also, I might add some pictures of scenes for this little series of mine. I was drawing the scenes before I wrote them XD The deviantart link is on my page. But if you don't feel like going there, my username is kirabook there too!


	2. The Storybook and the King

_**A/N: **_Here's the next chapter :D If you guys have any question, please feel free to ask C: I haven't quite decided if I'm going to add the keyblade element into the story yet, but I think I might. I really want to, but who knows. I have plans that can go either way.

I tried to get all the spelling and grammar stuff out, but I probably missed a lot. There are probably random commas too...

Thanks for the help AngelOfLostLight and CrimsonDarkness 0013!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too....

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"You know Sora, you're going to get in so much trouble if you leave your room like that. Mom even gave you a spanking last time." Roxas said before he stuck his toothbrush in his mouth and brushed his teeth.

"I'll clean it soon. Gosh, you act like it's going to kill you Mr. I-am-so-neat." Sora replied hotly as he slipped on his white t-shirt over his head and smoothed it out.

Roxas spit into the sink and rinsed his toothbrush before replying. "It's not going to kill me, it's going to kill you. You gave yourself a scratch today from all your tripping this morning and we had to sneak a band-aid past mommy. You're so lucky she didn't catch us."

"Well, if somebody isn't always screaming about somebody else taking my Captain Crunch it wouldn't be a problem." He replied.

"Well, if someone got up when they're supposed to, then we wouldn't even be talking about band-aids and Captain Crunch in the first place!" Roxas said.

"Yeah yeah." Sora sighed. "So, what do you wanna do today?"

"I dunno. Riku said he was doing something with his mom and Tidus and Wakka are busy too."

"Hm... oh yeah! Remember Kairi and Naminé live here now? They asked if we can help pick flowers a couple a days ago."

"I dunno." Roxas replied. "Are boys supposed to pick flowers? I thought only girls do that. Like on TV."

"Well... I don't think boys pick flowers, but were helping girls pick flowers so isn't that different? It's not like we just decided to pick flowers." Sora answered.

"It is sorta different isn't it? Okay, we'll help them pick flowers!" Roxas said. He slipped on his sandals and followed Sora out of the bathroom.

* * *

Roxas and Sora slowly made their way across town toward the mayor's house where Kairi and Naminé lived.

"Hey Sora, I just noticed something. Naminé didn't talk at all. She just stared at me."

"Maybe she was shy or something." Sora said.

"Do shy people stare at people? I thought they just look away and stuff. That's what Tidus does when he meets someone new."

"But Tidus is three years old-"

"Three and a half."

"Tidus is three and a half years old. You can't compare them to four year olds. We're a lot older." Sora finished as they turned the corner. To their surprise, Naminé and Kairi were already outside picking some flowers from the front yard and putting them in a bag. As they approached, Kairi lifted her head and smiled brightly when she recognized them.

"You guys really came!" She said as she jumped up from the grass and hopped a bit in place.

"Yep. We said we would help you pick flowers didn't we?" Sora said as he returned her smile.

"Do you guys know how to pick flowers?" She asked quizzically.

"There's a way to pick flowers?" Roxas asked confused.

"Of course silly! Now come here you two and I'll show you." She squatted back down and looked up in time to see them squat down also.

"Alright, watch me. You take the stem very gently with one hand and then you use the other hand to tug on the very bottom of the stem." She demonstrated. "That way, you get a long stem so you can make flower necklaces and crowns."

Sora nodded his head in understanding and proceeded to try it out. His first few tries he tugged too hard and accidentally uprooted the whole flower, but eventually he got the hang of it. Roxas on the other hand, was still having a bit of trouble and pondered how Sora was able to master it so quickly without uprooting it or messing up the petals.

"It looks like you're having trouble." A soft spoken voice said near his ear. He turned his head to see Naminé squatting down next to him.

"Y-yeah." He stammered. "I keep messing up the flowers. I'm not very good at this." He said sadly, feeling a little useless.

"Well, why don't you help me? I'm making a flower necklace for auntie and uncle, but I won't finish them in time if I do it myself." She said as she smiled softly.

"S-sure why not?" He said.

She sat down all the way and spread out her legs in front of her. Roxas followed suit. She tugged her bag of flowers in her lap and pulled out a handful of them.

"Now watch carefully," she said as she started to tie the flowers in knots on the end making a chain. Roxas watched her for a bit before he grabbed a couple of flowers of his own and began to tie some knots. It was way easier to do this than to pull them out of the ground.

* * *

The four of them played with the flowers all afternoon before it was around lunchtime. Eventually, Kairi's aunt called them inside to eat, so Roxas and Sora were also heading home for lunch.

"Wait!" Kairi called.

They turned around to find Kairi running to catch up with them. She had a black book squeezed to her chest.

"Sora, Naminé told me to give this to you. It's a story that our grandma used to tell us when we were little." Kairi explained as she handed Sora the storybook.

"What's it about?" He asked as he examined the cover. It was pitch black with the exception of a small light in the middle and a small dark silhouette with a smile standing there appearing to be hold the light. It didn't have a title and it looked a little worn.

Kairi shook her head negatively. "I'm not supposed to tell you. You have to go home and tell your mommy to read it to you at bedtime."

"Why at bedtime?" Roxas asked.

"I don't know. You'd have to ask Naminé. But I have to go and eat right now. Will you guys come over tomorrow too?"

"We can't. We promised Riku we'd meet him at Play Island to spar." Roxas answered.

"What's Play Island?" Kairi asked as she slightly cocked her head.

"I forgot you're new here," Sora stated. "It's an island that was made just for us kids to go play on!" He exclaimed. "How about we just pick you up tomorrow and bring you and Naminé over? I don't think your aunt and uncle will mind. And I think our boat is big enough two more people. Right Roxas?"

"Yup!" He replied happily. Kairi giggled happily.

"Okay, Don't forget you two! Bye! See you later!" She yelled over her shoulder as she headed back home.

Sora and Roxas watched her for a moment before turning back to each other.

"I'll race you home Roxas! Winner gets to sit in mommy's lap when she reads the story?"

"Okay. Go!" Roxas yelled as he suddenly took off.

"Hey! That's no fair!" Sora declared as he took off after him yelling cheater over laughter.

* * *

It was their bedtime now and both boys were getting into their footies. Their mother had agreed earlier to read them the storybook and due to Sora's protests of cheating, she would let both of them sit on her lap. Roxas and Sora were zipping up their footies when their mother called them through the bathroom door.

"Are you boys done yet? I'm going to start the story without you." She called musically.

"No! Don't start yet!" Roxas yelled as he rushed to zip up his footie. Sora was already grabbing for the knob on the bathroom door and they both quickly rushed out of the bathroom and down the hallway. They climbed onto their mother's lap, who was sitting in the living room armchair.

"You boys ready?" She asked when they were comfortable.

"Read it! Read it!" Sora cheered, bouncing a little on his mother's lap.

"Alright, I'm getting to it silly." She replied as she slowly opening the book.

"_Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light._ " Their mother read.

The first page showed the silhouettes of many people reaching towards a glowing light with rounded hands that had no fingers that was floating above them. Their features were not visible, but cartoon like eyes and smiles were drawn white on their black silhouettes. "_Everyone loved the light._"

Their mother flipped the page and the once happy people now looked angry. Their expression of happiness were turned into frowns and the pure white of their eyes and smiles were now an angry red. Their rounded fingerless hands were now pointed sharp and would surely impale their victim. "_Then people began to fight over it._" She continued. "_They wanted the light for themselves._"

She flipped the page again this time, it showed a pink crystal cut into the shape of a heart being wrapped around by dark wisps. "_And darkness was born in their hearts." _She read. "_The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts._"

The next page revealed to be a big globe that was so black, it almost matched the black pages of the story book. "_It covered everything, and the world disappeared._"

"_But small fragments of the light survived... in the hearts of children._ " The next page had many smaller silhouettes that all had a small bright light glowing from where their hearts would be. They all had the same smiled plastered on their faces as the ones from the beginning of the story.

On the next page, a picture of the small silhouettes were all holding hands standing at some point on the globe that was now revealed to be a very light gray. "_With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world._ _It's the world we live in now._"

Another page revealed to be similar to the cover with a small light in the middle of the inky black page. "_But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness._"

The next picture had many globes of a light gray color. "_That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other._"

A rectangle shaped beam of white light that looked like a door was draw directly in the center of the next page surround again, by the inky black page. "_But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open._"

The next page had a pure white globe instead the inky black one or the light gray one from before. "_And the true light will return._ _So, listen, child._"

Now this page was the front cover. A small silhouette appearing to hold the bright light. "_Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be light to guide you._ _Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you._ _Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away._"

"That's the end kiddos." Their mother stated as she gently shut the book. It had an interesting mood, not one she quite expected a child to understand. Both boys had their eyes half open and sleepily turned their heads to look at their mother. Roxas, seeing as the story was over, politely climbed off of his mothers lap and used the couch to stand so he wouldn't fall. Sora on the other hand, was content sitting in his mother's lap and had no plans on moving. But his mother already knew he would do that so she picked up and put him on the floor with Roxas.

"Mommy," Sora whined. "I don't want to walk. I'm too sleepy."

"Shut up crybaby." Roxas said before he yawned loudly. "Mommy doesn't need to pick you up. You have legs!" He said.

Their mother chuckled as she grabbed their hands and slowly led them to their rooms.

"No, "He whined some more. "I don't want to walk." Sora said and he uselessly tried to slow down the walking by trying to sit down.

"Sora, I'm not going to carry you. If you sit down, you'll just have to sleep there." She warned. Sora showed his best pouting face he could muster with his tiredness.

Roxas was already asleep for the most part and was letting his mother guide him to his bed without much thought. Sora's mother opened their door and wasn't surprised to find Sora's side a complete mess, while Roxas's side was organized. She released a deep sigh and let go of Sora's hand to pick up Roxas and tuck him into his bed. Then she picked up Sora and cautiously maneuvered around his floor and successfully tucked him in also.

"Sleep tight." She whispered as she silently closed their door. That night, their dreams were filled with glowing light, familiar small silhouettes, and whispers that told unheard secrets.

* * *

Today was a new day that Roxas was looking forward to. He started his daily routine with waking Sora up, this time, claiming Kairi and Naminé were eating all their favorite cereal and drinking the orange juice. He fell for it as usual and ended up on his back... again. As Roxas finished getting ready, he walked out the bathroom to meet Sora who had a very wide grin on his face.

"... What did you do?" Roxas asked suspiciously.

"What do you mean 'what did you do'. I haven't done anything!" Sora complained. Roxas looked at Sora and then took a glance around the room. Nothing seemed out of order. He eyed Sora again suspiciously before turning around and slipping on his sandals.

"Come on. We gotta hurry and pick up Kairi and Naminé." Roxas reminded. He grabbed the storybook that was sitting on the hallway table and walked toward the door leading out of the house. He didn't see the devilish grin or hear the hushed chuckles from Sora.

* * *

They waved goodbye to their mother before taking off down the street to meet Kairi and Naminé. Sora was excited and couldn't wait to show off his skills. He vowed to himself today he would beat Riku and Roxas in front of the girls so they knew how strong he was. Roxas, on the other hand, was a bit nervous and didn't want to embarrass himself in front of them. He also vowed to at least beat Sora to show he was pretty strong. Riku was impossible to beat, but it was easy to taunt Sora into doing something stupid so he wouldn't concentrate on the spar.

As they neared the house, they could see Kairi and Naminé waving at them in the distance. Eager to get to Play Island, the boys sped up to meet them. They finally made it to the house and quickly collapsed on the grass struggling to catch their breath. Naminé and Kairi were chuckling as the display.

"Sorry we're late," Roxas started. "But Sora wouldn't wake up this morning." He explained between gasps for air. He handed Naminé the storybook from his face down position on the grass. She took it and went to set it down on the stool located on the porch in front of the house and walked back to them.

"He's lying!" Sora exclaimed before coughing a bit.

Kairi simply shook her head. She knew Sora and Roxas well enough now to know Roxas was the responsible brother, and Sora was the reckless one. She wondered which was older.

"Say, which one of you is older? Naminé was born four minutes before me." Kairi asked. Roxas flipped onto his back and propped up on his elbows.

"I'm older by three minutes." Roxas answered holding up three fingers. Sora huffed. Even though Roxas was older by just three minutes he was always proud to be older than Sora. Sora hated being the youngest out of his siblings. Even if it was only three minutes.

"Come on guys!" Sora said as he stood up. "We have to get to play island before Riku so we can say he was late!"

"You just want to get him back from last time." Roxas countered as he too stood up.

"Well, I have something cool to show you when we get there too!" Sora said as he turned and jogged in the direction of the docks.

"Let's go guys. I'm sure what ever Sora has to show us is stupid, but we could get there before Riku." Roxas stated as he motioned for the girls to follow.

* * *

They had all made it to Play Island. Kairi and Naminé were a bit surprised that they had their own island to play on, though only Kairi voiced her thoughts. Roxas, Kairi, and Naminé were all seated on the beach in front of Sora who was grinning madly.

"Show us already Sora" Roxas complained. "We don' have all day. Riku could get here any minute!"

"Okay okay!" Sora said hurriedly as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a fake golden miniature crown made of plastic. "Tada! This morning, I found this under my bed when I was looking for my shoe. And since I found it, that makes me the king of Play Island! Roxas you are my slave. Kairi and Naminé are the princesses." Sora explained as he set the crown onto his head. Roxas was glaring at Sora while Kairi and Naminé were giggling.

"Sora, you can't be the king because kings always have queens and you don't!" Shouted Roxas.

"That's not true! Kings don't always have queens!"

"Yeah they do. I read it in a book at daycare. The kings always have queens so they can rule over their kingdom together!" Roxas replied cheekily. Sora just huffed defiantly. Suddenly, he got an idea.

"Then Kairi is the queen, Naminé is the princess and you're the slave!" Sora yelled victoriously. Kairi gasped in surprised and lightly blushed just as Roxas stood up and walked over to his brother.

"Well, since I'm older and Naminé is older than Kairi, I'm the king, Naminé is the queen, and Kairi is the princess. You are just the slave." Roxas shouted as he took the crown from Sora's head and placed it on his own." Naminé and Kairi just giggled.

"That's not fair!" Sora yelled. "I found the crown, so I'm the king!" He took the crown off of Roxas's head and set it back on his.

"No, I am because I'm older!" Roxas yelled. It soon became an intense tug-of-war between them as Kairi and Naminé just let the scene unfold. Naminé heard footsteps approaching them and glanced to the side to see Riku walking smugly toward Sora and Roxas, who didn't see him coming.

Riku walked up to them silently. They didn't notice he was there because they were shouting and had their eyes squeezed shut in concentration. Riku forcefully grabbed the crown from their hands and swung his legs underneath them before they had the time to process what was happening. Roxas landed on top of Sora in a heap. Riku placed the crown on top of his head and placed a foot on Roxas's back.

"I am the king. Kairi and Naminé are the princesses. Sora and Roxas, you guys are the slaves." He said while grinning. Sora and Roxas tried to stand up to express their defiance, but Riku just pushed his foot down harder so they couldn't move. Seeing that the role of the king was settled, Naminé and Kairi curtsied to Riku and laughed at Roxas's and Sora's predicament.

"We're gonna get you back Riku! Just wait and see!" Roxas muttered angrily.

"I'd like to see you try." He replied with a wide grin. "Now build me and the princesses our castle!" Shouted Riku as he pointed to some sand.

* * *

Instead of sparring like was originally planned, Sora and Roxas were forced to do whatever Riku told them. He was the king after all. First, they made a big sand castle, though it only looked like a pile of sand. Then, they had to let Riku ride them like a horse. He so heavy and they always ended up with a mouth full of sand. Roxas and Sora slowly sulked all the way home after dropping of Kairi and Naminé at their house.

"Hey Sora?"

"Yeah Roxas?"

"How about we make a truce and get Riku back tomorrow?"

"I dunno..."

"Well, we can try right? No harm in trying. So, want to?" Roxas asked.

"... Okay. " He replied happily. That night, they planned out plans A, B, and C for their revenge.


	3. The Reason We Never Beat Riku

_**A/N: **_... This literally took **FOREVER** to write. If I didn't have Crimson helping me out I wouldn't have even had half the chapter! *gives an appreciative thumbs up* You want to know something? I'm able to stay in a childish state of mind thanks to listening to "Good Company" from that movie Oliver & Company! I wasn't born when it first came out, but I love that movie! The song is so cute. Reminds me a lot of Sora and Roxas... or their twin versions I've made up anyway. *giggles*I sing it at school around my friends just to annoy them.

I _hope_ you'll enjoy it....

I tried to get all the spelling and grammar stuff out, but I probably missed a lot. There are probably random commas too...

Thanks for the help AngelOfLostLight and CrimsonDarkness 0013!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too....

* * *

**The Reason We Never Beat Riku**

_"I heard you're going to visit home soon." A male voice stated as he came to sit beside the younger boy._

"_Yup. My little brothers' birthdays are coming up. They're turning five." He replied in a musical happy tone. He hadn't seen them in a while due to his strange circumstances and missed them a lot.  
_

"_Well, be careful. You know _He_ is probably still out there looking for you. It could be dangerous if he finds out you have siblings." A female voice said with a worried tone as she too sat down next to the younger boy._

"_Don't worry so much Terra and Aqua. If something does happen, I'll protect them and myself. I've improved a lot since I came here." He wanted to reassure them, but he knew it wasn't working. He smiled slightly at the thought that they cared so much.  
_

_Terra sighed as he patted him on the shoulder. "Just be careful Ven. You know that they aren't people you can take lightly."_

"_I'm always careful." Ven replied with a smile._

"_You are such a liar." Aqua muttered dryly._

"_Why don't you guys just come with me then. My mom won't mind, we have plenty of room in the house for you guys to stay. And my brothers' would love to meet some new people. Especially Sora. He's quite the conservationist." Ven said the last part with a laugh._

_"__Well... why not." Aqua replied. They fell into a comfortable silence as the watch the shooting stars._

* * *

Roxas and Sora were both on Play Island laying the beach. Sora was napping as usual while Roxas lazily searched the cloudless sky for something other than blue. They were waiting for Riku to come to the island so they could begin Plan A of their revenge.

"Hey Roxas?"

"Yeah?" Roxas questioned. He was actually surprised Sora woke up by himself. It usually takes forever to wake him up at any time.

"I think... Venny is coming home soon." He said. Roxas turned his head quizzically to face him. Sora still had his eyes closed.

"Why would you think that?"

"I dunno. I was sleeping and then I suddenly felt like I'm going to see Venny soon. That means he must be coming home, right?" Sora asked.

"Maybe... our birthday is coming soon, so maybe he's coming home for that."

"I think so..." Sora said as he drifted off. Roxas could tell Sora had fallen back asleep. He had been acting a little weird lately. Firstly, he was easier to wake up for the most part. Although Roxas still got to witness Sora's usual painful morning wake up call, all he had to do to wake him up from naps was to shake him now. And every now and then, he would get these feelings that he didn't understand. They would be laughing one moment and then the next Sora would burst into tears for no apparent reason. Sora wouldn't have a clue as to why he would suddenly feel so sad.

Before he could ponder more, he noticed that Riku was making his way to the island on his boat. Roxas sat up hastily and crawled over to where Sora was sleeping.

"Sora! Wake up! Riku is coming and we have to get ready!" He yelled in his ear. Roxas was almost hoping Sora would turn over and reply he was too sleepy, but Sora just groaned and sat up slowly to rub his eyes. Roxas frowned.

"Do we have to do this Roxas? He always wins!" Sora complained.

"Well not today! We are going to get him. This time you just have to act right and maybe we can finally get him back for bossing us around so much." Roxas explained as he stood and helped his brother up to his feet.

"Now, do you remember what to do?" Roxas asked. He waited for Sora to answer, but Sora just looked around nervously. Roxas sighed and dragged Sora off the beach over to squat under the dock. Riku shouldn't be able to spot them there. "Now listen Sora, I'm only going to explain this one more time. We have to wait until Riku is distracted by looking out to the ocean like he usually does when he comes here. Then we act like spies and sneak up behind him and pull down his pants." Roxas finished.

Sora thought on it for a moment. "Can we be ninja instead of spies? Ninjas are cooler than spies and they can sneak around easier." Sora questioned.

"But spies are the best. They have car and boat chases and shot people with guns. Plus they are sneakier than ninjas. They have suction cup thingies." Roxas countered.

"But ninjas have cool powers and can set you on fire with hand signs." As he said so, he demonstrated random hand movements. "And they wear cool masks to hide their faces and have cool scars and stuff!" Sora argued.

"Spies have cool scars too! And they wear eye patches! They have cool tuxedos and rock music!"

"Well, spies talk weird and they always get beat up by ninjas!"

"No they don't!"

"Yes they do!"

"No they don't!"

"Yes the-"

"Wow, I never knew you two were so stupid." A voice said from behind them. They both jumped and Sora fell forward onto his face in the sand. Roxas whipped his head around to see Riku smirking behind them.

"W- when did you get here?" Roxas sputtered. Last they saw him, he was still rowing his boat over to the island.

"Oh. I've been here for a while. And soldiers are better than spies and ninjas. They have bombs to blow them all up." Riku added. Sora picked his face up from the sand and stood up with Roxas.

"How did you get behind us?" Sora asked as he rubbed his nose. Riku just stood there silently as if he were waiting for something to happen. Roxas face turned into confusion but then into surprise when Sora suddenly yelped beside him.

Sora started hoping around spastically and running in random directions, all while was grabbing his bottom and screaming "My butt!" Roxas just watched his brother for a minute and was about to ask what was wrong, but before he could even open his mouth he felt a strong pinching sensation on his bottom. He too began to run around while grabbing his bottom.

While both boys were running around, Riku couldn't help but laugh. He had arrived on the island around the time the boys started to talk and heard about their plan to pants him. Thinking quickly, he devised his own plan to counter theirs. He couldn't think of anything for a moment until his eyes feel on a couple of hermit crabs lying on the beach.

With a grin, he quietly walked off the dock when Roxas and Sora began to argue about spies and ninjas. He carefully grabbed the closest two crabs he could find and quietly snuck up behind them. They were both too distracted in their own stupid argument to notice his approach.

Very carefully, Riku grabbed the edge of Sora's shorts so he could put the hermit crab in. He succeeded easily. He knew Roxas was more attentive, so he just let the hermit crab wiggle down into his overalls instead of trying to pull his open to drop it there. They both didn't know what was happening.

Desperate to stop the pinching, Sora pulled down his shorts and looked over his shoulder to see a small hermit crab securely latch onto his bottom through his underwear. He carefully removed it and sighed in relief. Then he glared at the crab in his hand and threw it away as hard as he could. He looked in the direction of where he threw the crab for a moment before he realized that Roxas was running around too. Forgetting to pull back up his shorts, Sora wobbled over to the path where his brother was currently headed.

When Roxas ran by, Sora was able to grab his overall strap that was flying behind him, effectively stopping him by making his overalls fall to his knees causing Roxas trip over them. When Roxas's overalls fell, Sora observed he also had a hermit crab attached to his bottom through his underwear.

Sora quickly removed the crab and they it away before his brother stood up again. Roxas sighed in deep relief and Sora helped him to his feet. They both turned their attention to Riku when they heard him laughing. Sora narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"What's so funny? Having a hermit crab on your butt isn't funny!" Sora huffed. Riku continued to laugh, much to their annoyance, before Riku pointed to their legs. Sora and Roxas looked down and realized their shorts and overalls were still pooled at their feet. They blushed brilliantly and hastily pulled them back up.

"You guys were going to pants me?" Riku said between his fits of laughter. "You guys just pantsed yourselves!" he continued. Embarrassment quickly turned to anger as they chased Riku around the small beach.

* * *

Riku, Roxas, and Sora were all walking together on the main island. Roxas and Sora were still upset that Plan A not only failed, but it was turned against them by the person they were using it against. Although they still had Plan B and Plan C, they weren't very planned out because they were sure their first plan would work.

"Hey guys!" A girls voice called. The three of them stopped walking and looked around for the source of the voice but didn't find one. They turned to look at each other in confusion before the voice spoke again.

"Look up here silly! It's Kairi!" She announced. The boys then all looked up to the second floor window of the mayors house to see Kairi in the window waving. None of them had realized they turned on this street.

Kairi left the window for a moment and returned with a painting apparently newly wet. "Me and Naminé are finger painting! She's better at it than I am. Do you guys want to come in and paint with us?" She asked.

"Well," Riku started. "I'm was kinda tired and was going to head home and watch TV." He said. Laughing so hard at Sora and Roxas wore him down much faster than any sparring match he could have. It was then Roxas set Plan B into motion. Sora and Roxas had planned to make Riku somehow fall asleep and paint all over his face. They didn't really think they would use it so they never thought of a way to get some paint or how to find Riku when he was sleepy, but now was the perfect opportunity.

Sora also realized this also and a grin spread across his face. "Why not Riku? We're only finger painting. It's not like you sparring or racing right? Your just sitting on your butt and using your fingers!" Sora explained as he raised his hands and wriggled his fingers for emphasis. Riku sighed and looked thoughtful for a moment before agreeing to finger paint. They were all walking into the house until Sora suddenly stopped. He thought he heard some whispering in the back of his head but he couldn't make out the words. He face screwed up in concentration as he tried listen harder. As if in response to his attempt to hear, the whispers started to get louder and louder but they were still muffled.

_'He's been acting so weird lately.'_ The voice suddenly boomed loudly and clearly. Sora gasped and jumped back. He looked up to see Roxas standing there in shock with his hand reached out.

Roxas had seen Sora stop and tapped his arm to see if he was okay. Sora was still a little confused on what happened. He smiled to hide his confusion and continued walking with Roxas, who giving him unnoticed worried glances.

* * *

"Listen Sora," Roxas whispered so Riku wouldn't hear. "You have talk about some calming things so that Riku will fall asleep and then we can paint on his face!" Roxas chuckled the last part along with Sora.

Sora and Roxas were lying on their stomachs and Riku, Kairi, and Naminé's were all sitting with their legs crossed. They were in a circle on the floor and the finger paint was in the middle. Naminé and Kairi once again proved to have better artistic skills than the three boys put together.

About ten minutes had passed before Sora began Plan B. "It's so nice today," he said slowly. "It makes me kinda want to sleep. Do you Riku?" Sora asked in an innocent tone. Riku just looked up from his painting before shrugging and continuing his picture. Sora frowned and thought of some more sleepy things. As he was thinking, he didn't notice his own sudden yawn.

"And the clouds are so puffy and soft, they look like a pillow I can just rest my head on." He continued. Roxas 'hmmed' next to him and yawned also. "And when we were laying on the sand, it was so warm it felt like a blanket." By now, Sora had stopped painting and rested his head on his crossed arms. He tried to think of more calming things but his thoughts were becoming a bit mushy.

"And the waves sounded so nice and stuff..." he trailed off. He didn't notice his eyelids becoming heavy and was struggling to keep them open. Roxas was having much the same problem, but Riku was still wide awake watching them with a knowing grin.

"And birds... were flying..." Sora slurred. After a moment of silence, Kairi and Naminé had realized Sora and Roxas had fallen asleep. They also noticed that Riku had abandoned his picture to grab the paint from the center of them and was crawling towards their sleeping forms.

"What are you doing?" Naminé asked with suspicion. Riku just turned his head and put a finger close to his lip to signal them into silence. He crawled the rest of the way and then leaned over them. Although Kairi and Naminé couldn't see exactly what he was doing, they could tell he was clearly painting their faces. After a couple of minutes, Riku stood up and revealed to them his handy work. Kairi and Naminé had to cover their mouths to keep from laughing out loudly.

Riku had painted some red paint over their lips to make it look like they had on lipstick. Then he painted some blue on their eyelids and added some lines jutting out to make it look like they had on eye shadow and long eye lashes. Lastly, he painted some pink on their cheeks to make it look like they had on a lot of blush.

"Can you tell me where the bathroom is?" He asked "And don't wake them up until after I leave. Follow Sora and Roxas when they leave. I have something fun for you to do." Riku instructed with a grin. They both nodded in understanding and Kairi told him where the bathroom was. Riku washed his hands quickly and left.

* * *

Roxas slowly woke up wondering why his face felt itchy. Why he was waking up anyway. He didn't remember falling asleep. He sat up from lying on his stomach and stretched while he yawned.

He tried to think of what he was doing while he was asleep, but nothing came to mind. He glanced around the room hoping to find clues and noticed it wasn't his. Then he remembered. Kairi and Naminé had invited them to finger paint and they were going to make Riku fall asleep so they could paint on his face. Roxas turned to Sora who he knew would be asleep but suddenly froze. Sora's face was painted to look like a girl.

Normally he would laugh at this situation, but he had already realized why his face was itchy. With shaky hands, he reached up to his face and felt the crusty finger paint in the same places Sora had some. He yelled in anger, jolting Sora from his peaceful slumber.

Slightly disoriented, Sora slowly got up from his stomach position and peered around the room with droopy eyes until his eyes met with Roxas's. Sora slowly took in Roxas's appearance. Not realizing his face was painted in the same fashion, Sora burst into hysterical laughter.

Hearing Roxas's yell earlier, Kairi and Naminé walked into their room where Sora and Roxas were sleeping and giggled. Roxas noticed the two girls at the door and directed his ire at them.

"Why did you let Riku paint our faces?" He asked angrily. This was their second plan to fail and Roxas was getting frustrated. Kairi and Naminé just continued to giggle while Sora clutched his stomach from laughing too hard.

* * *

Roxas and Sora washed the finger paint from their faces and set off to look for Riku so they start Plan C. While searching for him, Sora and Roxas had already decided to act like spies/ninjas and sneak up behind Riku so they could tackle him and tickle him. He always laughed at them, so now, they would make him laugh until he cried.

They spotted Riku sitting on a park bench and watched him from the corner a house near by. "Sora this our last chance!" Roxas reminded him. "We only have an hour before we have to go home for dinner. Today is the only day we can get him back. Okay!" Sora nodded his head seriously. Roxas nodded in confirmation was about to sneak from the behind the house until Sora suddenly chuckled loudly.

Roxas slapped back against the wall and Sora covered up his mouth to smother the rest of his giggles. Roxas held up a finger to his mouth and Sora stopped chuckling to nod seriously once again. Roxas just rolled his eyes. They tip toed across the street to hide in a bush. Sora started to chuckle again, causing Riku to turn his head in their direction.

"Sora." Roxas whispered sternly. "I really want to get revenge on Riku this time. If you keep laughing then he's going to know what we're doing!" He whispered. Roxas tried to look angry hoping it would calm Sora's laughter, but it only got harder.

"But Roxas," Sora started. "Every time I think of how funny it's going to be I can't stop laughing!" He half whispered half laughed.

"Then laugh afterwards! You won't get to laugh if we don't get him in the first place." Roxas sighed heavily in annoyance and turned back around to watch Riku as he turned his head back in the other direction. Roxas waved his hand for Sora to follow him out of the bush and they quietly snuck behind the bench Riku was sitting on. Roxas was grinning madly now and was just about to pounce him before Sora burst out laughing.

"Sora! See, you messed it up! Now he knows we're here!' Roxas shouted angrily at his twin. Sora just continued to laugh without a care in the world. Suddenly, they were both tackled to the ground and landed on each other with Sora on bottom and Roxas on top. Much like the day Riku had tripped them and declared himself king.

"You guys really suck at revenge." Riku stated. "I gave you guys plenty of time to get me back, but you messed up all of them." He said sadly as he shook his head from side to side. Roxas and Sora were trying to get up from their piled position but Riku had his foot place firmly on Roxas's back, preventing them from moving.

"You can come out now guys." Riku said to no one. Roxas and Sora both adopted confused expressions before Kairi and Naminé suddenly came out from behind a trashcan in the park.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sora asked. They were just at their house and they didn't see anyone follow them.

"You know what to do right?" Riku asked them. They both nodded happily and slowly crept with hungry eyes toward Sora and Roxas, who were still penned under Riku's foot.

"What are you doing?!" Roxas asked panicked as he and Sora struggled a bit harder. Whatever Riku told them to do couldn't be good.

Standing over them now, Kairi and Naminé slowly reached down and began to tickled them. Their screams of laughter and stomach pain could be heard all across the island for ten minutes straight.

* * *

"Sora, this is all you fault." Roxas stated as the walked home together. "First, you made me get distracted and Riku was able to put crabs in our shorts. Then you talked too good about sleepy stuff and made us fall asleep, and then you laughed right when we were about to get Riku!" Roxas complained. Sora just rubbed the back of his head in shame.

"Sorry Roxas. I didn't mean too..." He trailed off as he looked up to the sky lazily. Though Roxas was still a little upset they didn't get Riku back because of Sora, he couldn't stay mad at his brother for long. Roxas sighed, then remembered what happened earlier that day when Sora had suddenly pulled back like he had been burned by his touch.

"... Hey Sora?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah?"

"... are you okay today?" He questioned. Sora looked at him and knew what he was asking about. Sora brought up his hand and raised it to the sky as they walked. He gazed at his raised arm and there wasn't anything wrong with it. Sora wasn't sure of what happened then, but he guessed it was telepho- telepathy. And Roxas was the one who did it, but he wasn't aware that he had.

He waited a couple of minutes before he spoke. "... I think so." He answered quietly.

* * *

Ohh, and the plot chickens?

_Rewind Please _(These _'Rewind Please_' segments will be at the end of each chapter. They are just my thoughts and sometimes might have a little more information in them.)_  
_

Alriddy. What to review first... oh yes. Venny is coming home soon! Yay! and that will be happening in *read notes* chapter 7! U_U Yes, it does seem far away! But don't worry! I already have chapter 4 and 5 typed up =^_^= but I'm not uploading them yet :D

Oh ho ho. Sora's strange habits begin.

Hmm?! Telepathy exists?! Yep it does. In this story anyway. And yes, Roxas was the one who used it this chapter(unconsciously), not Sora. This will be further expanded on in chapter 5, but mostly in chapter 6.

Roxas just doesn't have any luck. All his plans end up failing! XD I couldn't think of ANY pranks for them to pull at all for the most part. All my idea pretty much sucked before CrimsonDarkness 0013 helped me out. Thank you lotto!

There were probably so many grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors in here! DX If you see any, let me know. I'll be going through a couple more times to check myself. Welp, Till Laters~


	4. The Sketchbook and Cooties

_**A/N: **_I've been so anxious to upload this. I was like "Oh, I'll do it Saturday afternoon, nah, I'll do it in the morning... I'll just do it now!" XD I really just want to upload all the chapters I have typed...

I'm pretty proud of myself, I've been able to keep up with my 'at least 3,000 words per chapter' goal more easily than I originally thought. I always thought it was super duper hard! Enjoy!!!!

I tried to get all the spelling and grammar stuff out, but I probably missed a lot. There are probably random commas too...

Thanks for the help AngelOfLostLight and CrimsonDarkness 0013!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too....

* * *

**The Sketchbook and Cooties**

A week had past since Sora and Roxas's attempts to pay back Riku. Roxas was convinced Sora was the reason no one ever beat Riku. Whether they were sparring, racing, or even doing a prank, Sora always messed it up! So today, said boys were helping Kairi and Naminé again with picking flowers.

"Listen up boys!" Kairi stood up from her previous sitting arrangement in the grass to address them. They were all sitting in a circle with their legs in a criss-cross-applesauce position.

"Today, me and Naminé wanted to try and make the longest flower chain in the whole universe!" She emphasized her point by swinging her arms as far as they could go. "Then, we will be famous and get on TV! Like that man who made the longest chain of gum wrappers!" She shouted as she hopped around the yard. By now, Sora was already dazzled at the thought of being on TV and had joined Kairi in jumping around the yard in excitement. Roxas sighed and looked over to Naminé who was giggling at their antics.

"Now, me and Sora are going to pick the flowers since we're best at it. Roxas and Naminé will tie them together!" She said while plopping down onto the lawn near the biggest patch of flowers. Sora soon joined her and they started picking away. Roxas rolled his eyes and scooted closer to Naminé, who had began to tie the first two flowers together.

"Naminé," Roxas whispered, getting her attention. "We don't have enough flowers to make the biggest chain in the universe! We would need like... a gazillion flowers to make it super long." He finished. Naminé face turned thoughtful before nodding with with a serious expression. She dropped the flowers on the yard and stood up with Roxas to inform their counterparts about the impossible task.

Before Roxas could speak however, he was interrupted by a shout of shock and confusion.

"Sora, Roxas? What are you doing?!" Riku asked. Roxas and Sora turned their heads to see Riku standing behind them with a pale face.

"We were just helping Naminé and Kairi pick flowers." Sora answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. If it were possible, Riku's face became even more pale. He stalked up to Roxas and Sora and proceeded to grab them by the collar of their shirts to drag them away.

"What are you doing Riku?!" Roxas yelped. Sora just resorted to preventing himself from choking as Riku had grabbed the back of his collar instead of the front like Roxas and pulling it jammed his shirt into his neck.

"Wait Riku!" Kairi called. "They were going to help us make the longest flower chain in the universe!" She pouted.

"I need them to help me out with something today." He called back, yelling over Roxas's cries for release. "They promised they would. They must have forgotten." He lied as he continued to drag them off.

"Oh... well I guess they can't break a promise." She said with a sad tone. She waved goodbye and began to walk back to the house with Naminé once Riku had dragged them out of seeing distance. "And today was such a nice day for flower picking, wasn't it Naminé?" She asked as she tilted her head to the sky and watched a cloud slowly pass over.

"Yeah." She replied quietly. They had made it to their house and proceeded to go to the room they shared upstairs. Similarly to Roxas and Sora's room, their room was also divided exactly in the middle, but Kairi and Naminé's room was much bigger than theirs. Their walls were a very clean white. On Kairi's side, there was a bordering chain of purple and pink X's that matched the ones on her dress in on the middle of the wall and it continued to the floor. Naminé's side had the same X's, but hers were all the same blue color that matched the blue of her shoes and the X's on her dress.

Unlike Sora's and Roxas's beds, which were on opposite sides of the room, Kairi's and Naminé's beds were very close to the invisible line that divided the room in half. Kairi sighed dramatically as she plopped backwards on her bed and gazed at the white ceiling. Naminé slowly walked to her bed and gently sat down with her head tilted toward the floor. She seemed timid, Kairi noticed.

"What's wrong Naminé?" Kairi asked quietly as she sat up and faced her sister. There were times when Naminé was unusually quiet. Sure, she never talked much anyway, but sometimes she was even more quiet than usual. Only Kairi was able to tell the difference between her usual silence and her strange silence. Naminé sat there unmoving for another moment or two before she slowly turned and pulled out a blue covered sketchbook from under her pillow with shaky hands.

Kairi gasped knowingly and quickly abandoned her bed to join her sister on hers. Naminé grabbed the box of colored pencils that were conveniently placed on the nightstand between her and Kairi's bed and set out some colors that seemed specific. She then flipped to a new page and began drawing.

On rare occasions, blurry overwhelming visions would invade Naminé's mind. There was nothing she could do about them and they were unpreventable. Before she got her sketchbook, it was even worse. The visions wouldn't leave until she at least confronted them and released them through some sort of medium. She didn't like to talk and explaining the visions was too hard. Although she could write, she didn't have the vocabulary to explain all the details. So she drew them. Her mother had bought her a sketchbook just for the occasion. Naminé didn't like it at first. Handling the visions gave her a headache and sifting through them for something she could draw made it worse. Her mother encouraged her to do it anyway, explaining it was gift given to her for her to help people in need.

She never really knew what she was drawing until it was finished, but it was usually about something disastrous. The last picture she drew is what made their mother send them here. It was a picture of their town they lived in, except all the buildings and pretty waterfall fountains were broken and misshapen. Naminé had drawn pink hearts here and there at seemingly random places on the page. Coming from the bottom of the page were an array of dark black, purple, and green wavy lines that covered some of the broken town and looked to be swallowing the pink hearts she had drawn. The most sinister part of the picture was the dark silhouette of a hunched over man who was standing directly in the center of the broken town. None his features were visible except for piercing yellow eyes and a smirking mouth colored with the darkest black Naminé had available. She had told Kairi she didn't feel it was dark enough. Even more frightening is it looked as if he was looking at them through the picture.

Most of the time, Kairi was able to guess what Naminé's pictures were about correctly, since Naminé didn't know what they meant herself. But Kairi was lost with this one. She didn't know why Naminé had drawn so many pretty pink hearts only to color over them with black. She also didn't know who the man was that was standing in the center of the page and why he was smiling when everything was broken. His image left her a little frightened. Since she didn't know what it was about. Kairi and Naminé decided to show it to their grandmother and ask her opinion.

As soon as her eyes meet the picture, their grandmothers eyes widened considerably. She took both girls to their room and told them to stay there, taking Naminé's sketchbook with her. A couple of hours later, their mother came through the door with tear streaks on her face. Kairi and Naminé didn't know what was happening and were very confused. Their mom said she would have to explain later and they had to leave now. Before they knew it, they arrived at their aunt and uncles house and were hugging their mom goodbye with only the explanation that bad things were happening. They weren't even sure how they arrived since they were asleep the whole trip.

She made them promise not to tell anyone on the island that they were both princesses and about Naminé's sketchbook and visions. Seeing how serious she was, they couldn't refuse. Since then, Naminé had only drawn a picture of Kairi giving Sora their storybook that their grandmother read to them often. But judging by how Naminé's was acting, this drawing could be a serious matter.

Kairi watched as she started to draw what looked like Play Islands. Everything looked nice with a blue sky and a lot of green and tan making up a blob that was shaped like the island. Kairi guessed it wouldn't stay that way since Naminé had set aside some predetermined colors of black and gray. Next, Naminé drew what Kairi knew was Sora and Roxas standing on the beach holding hands. They both had pretty blue blobs for eyes and nice big smiles on their faces. Kairi couldn't help notice that Naminé had really made them almost identical like they really were. She drew a big pink heart in the middle of Sora's chest. She also drew one on Roxas. His was also pretty big compared to the other ones on the other picture, but it was still noticeably smaller than Sora's. Kairi just assumed that Naminé hadn't drawn them the same size on accident, forgetting Naminé had drawn their smiles and eyes identical to each other.

By now, Naminé was shaking uncontrollably. Kairi had never seen her so shaken when she was drawing so she assumed it would be as bad as the previous picture with dark lines coming from the bottom of the page. Kairi gulped loudly as Naminé grabbed the gray from her side. She was somewhat relieved when Naminé didn't stop at the bottom of the page and draw the dark curvy lines, but it quickly turned into fear when Naminé began to draw the same scary man from the picture before a little aways from where Sora and Roxas were standing. He was still hunched backed with no features and had the same dark smirk, but this time, his piercing yellow eyes were no longer staring out of the page, but instead drawn to look like he was looking at Sora.

Kairi covered her mouth with her hands as Naminé drew a couple of shaky breaths and set down the colored pencil she had in her hand. Kairi looked at the overall picture. Again, Kairi had no clue what the picture could mean. Though there weren't dark curvy lines drawn to engulf the picture, she still felt that this picture was just as bad as the last, if not worse. Her heart told her the man was reason why the town was broken in the other picture. Only a really scary person would do something like that. She worried as to why he would appear in this picture of Play Island with Sora and Roxas.

Naminé and Kairi turned and met each others eyes. There was nothing they could do or say. Their aunt and uncle knew about them being princesses, but they didn't know about Naminé's visions and her sketchbook. They had promised their mom they wouldn't tell anyone about them either. Naminé let a couple of tears escape her eyes silently as she stared into Kairi's. Seeing this, Kairi embraced her sister in a firm hug and whispered that everything would be okay as she let her own unseen tears fall.

They were scared for their new home and their new friends.

* * *

Riku had dragged them away until he felt they couldn't see them anymore and immediately released them, causing Sora to land harshly on his back and Roxas to fall on his face. They both groaned in pain and maneuvered so they could see Riku to glare at him.

"What did you do that for?!" Sora exclaimed. He really wanted to be on TV so he could meet his favorite cartoon characters.

"Why were you picking flowers with girls?" Riku asked. He was tapping his foot with his hands crossed across his chest, waiting for an answer as they painfully stood up from the floor.

"What's wrong with picking flowers with girls?" questioned Roxas. "If you think about it, we aren't really "picking flowers". We're "helping pick flowers". So really, we aren't picking flowers at all." Roxas explained smugly. Sora just crossed his arms and also gave a smug expression. Riku looked appalled before he shook his head.

"Guys, boy aren't supposed to pick flowers or do other girly things because they are infected with cooties!" Riku replied. Roxas and Sora looked at each other confused before Sora asked Riku what they were both wondering.

"What are cooties?"

"You don't know what cooties are?" In his kindergarten class, everyone knew what cooties were. "Cooties is a disease you get from girls. You will get really sick and itchy if you catch it." He explained.

"Isn't that just the chicken pox?" Roxas asked sceptically, crossing his arms again.

"Nope. It's even worse. They only way to be cured is to go to the doctor and get a big cootie shot. They say it hurts so bad and sometimes peoples arms falls off because the needle is so big!" He knew he lied on that part. He could give them a cootie shot right here by chanting the magic words his classmate taught him that will keep you from ever getting cooties.

Riku was kind of happy neither Roxas nor Sora knew what cooties were. Now, he could not only see Sora sweat in fear, but Roxas too. Though Roxas was better at hiding it and scowled to cover up his almost panic.

"So we can't hang around Kairi and Naminé anymore?" Sora asked sadly with a hint of worry in his tone.

"You can, but if either of them touch you, you'll get cooties and have to get that shot." He replied. He was trying hard not to smile broadly as he watched Sora shift uneasily on his feet and squeeze his shoulder.

"I think you're lying." Roxas declared. "If girls really had cooties, we all would have gotten them a long time ago. Mommy is a girl." Roxas countered.

"Once you turn 13, you can't get cooties anymore and girls won't have cooties anymore either." Riku answered in a matter-a-fact tone. Roxas just narrowed his eyes at Riku and grabbed Sora's wrist as he walked away. Riku just watched them go. Once they were out of seeing distance, he broke out in laughter.

* * *

Kairi was slightly confused about Sora and Roxas's behavior. Yeah, they would talk to them, but whenever Kairi tried to touch them, Sora would quickly pull back and run away screaming bloody murder. Roxas, acting no better, would dodge any contact and make up an excuse to leave as if being polite before taking off in a mad dash. They also wouldn't pick flowers with them anymore. It was so frustrating. She has a feeling it had something to do with Riku's appearance that day. She would found out what was wrong.

She had a great plan to find out what was with them. Their aunt and uncle had signed them up for swimming lessons and they were coincidentally put into the same group as Sora and Roxas. At the beginning of class, the teacher told them to choose a partner for the exercise they would be doing in the pool. Before anyone could choose, Kairi shot her hand up and declared she was Sora's partner and Naminé was Roxas's partner. Both boys were about to protest before Kairi turned to them and put on her most intimidating face she could muster. They cowered under her gaze.

'If they were this easy to control, I should have done it before'. She thought to herself as she stole a glace at Sora, who was fidgeting next to her. The teacher finished explaining the paired exercise and instructed them to begin. They all sat on the edge of the pool. Naminé and Kairi sat on the outside while Roxas and Sora sat between them. For the first part of the exercise, they had to kick their feet in the water for 10 minutes. Kairi intended to fix the problem before the next stage.

"So. Roxas, Sora. Why are you avoiding us?" Kairi asked bluntly. Sora paled and turned his head to face Kairi.

"We aren't avoiding you!" He denied.

"Yes you are! Every time I try to touch you, you run away. And every time we ask you to pick flowers with us, you say you're busy!" She countered.

"Riku told you something, and now you avoid us." Naminé added softly. Roxas and Sora looked at each other for a moment before Roxas sighed heavily.

"Riku told us that girls have cooties and if we catch them, it will be worse than chicken pox and we have to go to the doctor to get a shot." He stated. Kairi and Naminé were still for a moment before the both burst into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

"What's so funny?" Sora and Roxas asked in unison.

"Don't worry, we already got a cootie shot and you don't have to go to the doctor to get one. We could give you one right here if you want." Kairi said.

"How can you give us one here? Don't you need a big needle?" Roxas asked. Kairi shook her head negatively as Naminé answered.

"No, you don't. All you need is your finger." She answered as she held up her index finger. Both girls pressed their finger on Roxas and Sora arms before singing the magical chant in unison.

_Circle, circle._

_Dot, dot._

_Now you got your cootie shot._

_Circle, circle._

_Line, line._

_Now you have it all the time._

They pulled their fingers away and Kairi smiled brightly.

"See? Now you can't get cooties anymore." Sora squeezed and opened his hands in fascination while Roxas gently rubbed and struggled to turn his head enough to see the spot where Naminé had just given him his 'shot'. They were both quiet for a moment before Roxas finally spoke up.

"... I don't feel any different." He said.

"You're not supposed to. It's a magic shot. You don't feel anything." Kairi answered. Sora, glad to be rid of the cootie problem, attempted to jump up onto his feet and cheer in victory. He had forgotten he was sitting on the ledge of the pool with his feet in the water. Instead of getting to his feet, he slid off the ledge and into the water. All the kids in the group laughed at Sora as he swam back up to the surface and coughed up some water that he had swallowed from the unexpected dunk. Roxas was laughing harder than everyone else.

To get him back, Sora splashed Roxas with water, causing him to accidentally splash Kairi and Naminé too, who squealed in surprise. Roxas jumped into the water and soon the whole pool erupted into a slashing war. All the other kids had also jumped into the pool and started splashing everyone else.

The instructor sighed knowingly. He has never gotten through a class without Sora turning it into something else with his silly outburst, but he still couldn't help chuckle to himself. When he first started instructing the new group of kids, they had all been nervous with the exception of Sora and Roxas. The twins easily loosened up the class with charisma he was sure even politicians didn't possess. Especially Sora. If it were possible, he would say it was like some kind of super power.

* * *

Roxas and Sora were positively exhausted from their swimming lesson turned splashing war. Both were on the edge of sleep in their beds.

"Roxas." Sora said quietly.

"Yeah?" Roxas responded. He knew he shouldn't have been, but he was surprised Sora was still awake. It definitely rekindled his worries about some of Sora new habits. It was quiet for a while and Roxas thought Sora had went to sleep before he rolled over to see Sora staring at him with almost glowing blue eyes identical to his own.

"What's wrong?" Roxas asked. Sora was quiet for another minute before he finally spoke.

"What did you think of that storybook?" Sora asked. Roxas thought for a moment before answering.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think it really happened. People fighting and the darkness eating everything and then kids rebuilding the world?" He questioned. Sora admitted he would believe almost everything, but he felt everything that happened in the storybook might really be real. He didn't know how to explain the familiar feeling he got when his mother read it to them. He wanted to know what Roxas thought.

Roxas hadn't even thought of the storybook for a while. He did feel like there was something about it, but he didn't really know what to think. While their mother read it, it was almost like he had already heard it before, but he knew he hadn't. If Sora felt the same way, maybe there really was something special about it.

"Kind of." Roxas agreed. "Something about that story is weird... but I think some of it's true." He stated carefully. Sora just smiled and turned so his back was facing Roxas.

"Good night, Roxas." Sora said sleepily.

"Good night." He turned his body a little so he was flat on his back. Sora was acting weird, but he would just have to figure it out later. He was too tired.

As he slowly close his eyes, he became aware of faint whispering. He opened his eyes and peered across the room. The whispering had stopped. He thought it could have been Sora, but soft snoring indicated the Sora was already asleep. Deciding it was just his imagination, Roxas turned on his side so he was facing the wall and closed his eyes once more. The whispers started again, but this time they were louder and sounded like they were being spoken directly into his ear. He jolted up in the bed and gave the room a critical eye. He stayed sitting up for a couple of minutes before exhaustion made his eyelids even heavier and forced him to lay back in bed.

This time when he closed his eyes, the whispers didn't return.

Now, he was dreaming. Everything was blurry, but he could make out a barren field. What looked like thousands of stakes were sticking out of the ground and making a what appeared to be a big X. As he tried to make out more, but it steadily became blurrier and darker until all he could see was darkness.

* * *

End of the chapter folks!

_Please Rewind the Tape to Review_

So, in this chapter Naminé and Kairi's reason for being sent there is revealed for the most part. I think you'll see some more about it soon. it will be revealed in *flips through notes*... the next chapter! XD The person who did it will shows up too (He isn't actually there though). *evil chuckle* (I'm sure you can guess who it is right?)

Naminé also revealed her premonition skills and her medium is through drawing. I was going to make it so that Kairi was the only one who knew what the drawings were about, but a four year old wouldn't know how to interpret hidden messages imo :/ She's just clever and can guess most of Naminé's pictures because it's rare for her to draw something that is so complicated like the 2 she's drawn recently.

I remember when I was younger, cooties was a **huge** deal. Unless someone was there to see you get a cootie shot they didn't believe you got one and would taunt you over and over and over again. 'You got cooties you got cooties!' Urg. I think even when I was a kid, some kids were just so annoying. XP

Roxas witnesses some more Sora weirdness! But he also experiences some weirdness of his own... I'll tell you, the next chapter can either be seen as cute or frightening... or rather the chapter after the next chapter. I guess a combination of both. No more hints though :D

I was wondering if anyone has an idea for more brotherly interactions! Let meh know if you do! Laters~


	5. Handshakes, Caves, and Nightmares

_**A/N: **_Whew, this one took forever and it's not even that long! (Also, I'm writing these ahead of time, but still). I think this is one of my favorite chapters... I just love childhood logic. A lot of it in this story was my own logic from back then. Also, there are **SUPER MEGA IMPORTANT **notes written at the bottom of this chapter. Please read them so you don't get confused later... please. :B

I tried to get all the spelling and grammar stuff out, but I probably missed a lot. There are probably random commas too...

Thanks for the help AngelOfLostLight and CrimsonDarkness 0013!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too....

* * *

**The Handshake, the Cave, and the Nightmare**

Sora and Roxas were one Play Island on fine afternoon. They both wondered why the small pond that was constantly filled by the mini waterfall never had any fish or crabs. Taking the matter into their own hands, they decided to put fish and crab into the pond themselves. They had a set number to catch five fish and three crabs for the pond.

They were easily able to catch the fish, but both were weary on catching the hermit crabs. Every since that incident with the prank, Sora avoided crabs and Roxas always kept an eye on them. It was around noon when they eventually got all the crabs. They boasted to the sky how amazing they were. Or Sora did anyway. He continued to boast about their achievement until Roxas interrupted him because he realized they forgot something important.

"We got all the fishes and crabs, but they don't have anywhere to live. There's no seaweed." Roxas complained. The seaweed was too deep in the water for them to get.

"Why don't we just use some vines?" Sora suggested. "Maybe if they stay in the water long enough, they'll turn into seaweed. Seaweeds are just weeds in the sea."

"But where do we get vines?"

"Right here!" Sora said as he climbed out of the small pond and stood in front of a section on the rocky wall. It was covered heavily with vines. Roxas climbed out of the pond as Sora began to rip some of the vines off the wall and waited for Roxas to get there and hand them to him. While Sora was pulling, he noticed that the wall was hard in some places, but in others it seemed there was no wall at all. He paused and began to push the vines a bit. He confirmed his suspicions when his hand continued to push the vines in instead of being stopped by a hard wall.

"Hey Roxas, I think there's a hole right here."

"What are you talking about?" Roxas questioned while raising an eyebrow. To him, it looked like Sora was just pressing his hand against the rock wall.

"Put the vines down and come over here." Sora instructed. Roxas dropped the vines at his feet and walked to stand next to Sora. "Push right here. There isn't a wall behind it." Sora explained. Roxas gave Sora a skeptical look before he did as Sora said. He was surprised to find there really wasn't the wall behind the vines.

"We should pull the vines away and see what's behind it!" So exclaimed as he started to rip and tear the vines at random. Roxas was a little hesitant at first, but soon, he joined Sora and pulled at the vines just as desperately.

After about 10 minutes of constant pulling, there revealed to be an opening to what they assumed was a cave. Sora glanced at Roxas with an excited expression at the thought of exploring a cave. But Roxas looked back with a frown. Sure, he would enjoy an adventure in a mysterious cave just as much as Sora, but this cave was a little strange. Why was it hidden by thick vines? And how hadn't anyone found it till now. His mother said Play Island was made when she was young and she never mentioned a cool mysterious cave.

"Sora, I don't think we should go in by ourselves." Roxas said with a worried tone.

"Why? We can go in by ourselves!" Sora pouted.

"But what if there's a monster or dinosaurs that eat people in there?" Roxas asked. "We should get Riku to come with us. He's stronger than us." Roxas added. Sora seemed to think on it for a moment before nodding his head reluctantly.

"Okay," he agreed. "But if he doesn't come, then I'm going in anyway." Sora replied. Roxas just smiled and suddenly took off towards the dock, Sora not far behind.

* * *

Roxas and Sora had been looking for Riku without any luck. They searched the whole island once already and were about to start the second search. Sora really just wanted to go without Riku's help, but Roxas insisted. He didn't want to be eaten just because Sora was impatient. They turned on the street where Kairi and Naminé lived. Both happened to be outside in front of the house drawing with sidewalk chalk. Sora and Roxas hadn't seen them since they got their cootie shots a couple of days ago.

Naminé lifted her head and waved when she spotted them. Curious, Kairi also lifted her head curiously and called to them with a smile.

"Hey guys! Wanna draw with some chalk? Aunt and Uncle just got it for us today." Kairi asked. Sora and Roxas were tempted, but Sora remembered they had an even cooler cave to explore.

"No can do." Sora emphasized by placing a hand on each hip. He puffed out his chest like he were on top of the world as he closed his eyes. Roxas rolled his eyes in response. "We just found a super cool mysterious cave with monsters and dinosaurs! When we walked in, they all attacked us and we were barely able to hold them back! So we're looking for Riku so he can help us fight them off!" Roxas slowly shook his head, silently signaling that Sora was clearly lying. Kairi giggled.

"Can we come too? I like exploring." Kairi stood up from the sidewalk and dusted the chalk from her hands on her dress.

"No way!" Roxas answered. "Girls can't be adventurers. You're too weak." He said as if it were a fact. He and Sora crossed theirs arms across their chest. Kairi puffed out her cheeks and narrowed her eyes.

"Girls can too be adventurers! Me and Naminé explored the whole cast- I mean…uh…" She looked at Naminé nervously whose eyes were wide in surprise. "I mean me and Naminé explored our old town all by ourselves without any help." She huffed as she turned back to face the boys. Roxas hummed in thought. He walked over to where Kairi was standing. He circled around her with a critical eye as if looking for a string on her clothes and 'hmmed' dramatically a couple of times. Eventually, he walked back over to Sora and whispered in his ear. They looked at each other and nodded seriously before Roxas spoke.

"Okay, you can come. But you have to keep up with us while we're looking for Riku and fight against any monsters that are in there."

"Yay!" Kairi cheered as she jumped up with excitement. She bent back down to help Naminé put away the chalk. When they were finished, she stood up and dusted her hands off on her dress again. "Can one of you carry Naminé's chalk? We have to find Riku fast and she doesn't want to walk all the way in the house to put it away. We don't have pockets." Kairi asked. Sora nodded and took the chalk from Naminé's hand to put in one of his maroon pockets.

"Let's go guys! We need to find Riku!" Roxas said as he turned around and took off down the street. The rest followed.

* * *

They had searched the whole island two more times and still couldn't find Riku. He wasn't at his house, ice cream shop, or any other places they looked. Sora grew tired of the search and decided that with Kairi and Naminé, they would be able to fight off any monsters that tried to eat them.

On the way to the docks, Roxas and Sora were discussing all the possible treasures that could be in the cave until Naminé suddenly raised her hand and pointed to the docks, simply saying "Riku". Their heads shot up and sure enough, Riku was untying his boat preparing to go to Play Island.

"Wait Riku!" Sora took off toward Riku to stop him from pushing off. Riku turned around to see all of them running towards him. He simply raised an eyebrow.

"Riku, we found this secret cave on Play island and wanted you to come with us to explore. There might be monster and stuff. I don't think we could take them on without you." Roxas said. He didn't like to admit Riku was stronger than them in his presence, but he just wanted to explore the cave and come out alive.

Now both of Riku's eyebrow shot up and he slowly smiled at Roxas's confession. Riku put his hand to his chin and made an expression of false thoughtfulness. The group fidgeted as they waited for an answer.

"I guess I could." He finally answered. "After all, I am stronger. Right Roxas?" He said with a grin. Roxas narrowed his eyes and reluctantly nodded his head. Riku turned back to his boat as Roxas and Sora untied theirs.

* * *

They were all standing in front of the cave looking down the tunnel in wonder. Everyone pondered how no one could have found such an obvious cave. Riku felt there was something special about the cave itself for it to have stayed hidden for so long. Just in case, Riku had brought his wooden sword with him.

The only person who wasn't thinking these things was Sora. Adventure like thoughts of booby traps, treasure, monsters, and bad guys littered his mind. Roxas thought he heard an annoying buzz in the back of his head, but figured it was just his nervousness.

Riku cleared his throat and met the glance of everyone around him. They all nodded simultaneously. Riku was the first to enter the cave. Sora and Roxas went next and Kairi and Naminé last.

From the outside, the cave looked very dark and nothing was visible, but as soon as they stepped in, it was as if a flashlight had been turned on. It wasn't a sudden light either, it was like they had simply walked through a wall and other side was unexpectedly light.

Riku walked slowly and cautiously down the rocky corridor. They had walked for about a minute or so before they came into a medium sized space. They all examined the room with greedy eyes until they heard an exasperated sigh. Riku was still standing at the entrance to the space with his arms crossed and had a slight frown upon his face.

"Guys, there's nothing in here but a bunch of rocks and dirt. You told me there would be monsters." He complained. He was about to continue his rant before Sora suddenly called out.

"There's a door here guys!" Sora shouted in excitement. They all walked to where Sora was and to their surprise, there was a big wooden door half hidden by the big boulder that sat in near the center of the cave space. Riku observed that the door didn't have a handle. Riku pushed past everyone so he could inspect the door closer.

Out of curiosity, he grabbed the edge of the door and gave an experimental tug. It didn't even budge. He tried again with more force, but all he got was a soft creaking sound from the door. Seeing his struggle, Roxas and Sora joined him in trying to yank the door open. After ten minutes, they all realized the door wasn't going to open and gave up. Riku was still slightly disappointed, but at least they got to see a mysterious door that they could probably open later.

Riku ordered everyone to exit the cave in front of him. Sora was a little reluctant to leave at all, but Riku was able to get make him go. As he was leaving the cave, he turned to give the strange door one last glance. He was shocked to see a black keyhole had formed in the middle. As he watched, it slowly faded away. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the door again, but the keyhole was gone.

* * *

Everyone was standing just outside the cave still looking in awe at the secret cave entrance. Bored with the cave and the door they were unable to open, Riku announced he had some business to attend to and quickly untied his boat and rowed back to the main island, but not before making Sora and Roxas promise to meet him for a spar the next day.

The remaining four had nothing to do for the rest of the day and had three hours left before they had to report home for dinner and go to bed.

"I thought there would be something more to the cave." Kairi announced. She couldn't keep feeling of disappointment from leaking into her tone.

"I did too. That door was pretty cool though. I wish could get it open. Can you think of all the treasures or booby traps or monsters that could be behind it?" Sora said as he plopped down on the beach next to Roxas. He felt a jiggle in his pocket and remembered he had Naminé's chalk. He pulled them out and handed them to Naminé. Seeing what he was doing earlier, she already had her hand out to receive them and smiled. Kairi watched the exchange for a moment before suddenly standing up with a bright face.

"We can use Naminé's chalk to write on the cave walls! Then it can be our secret clubhouse!" She announced. Roxas eyes widened before he too stood up with a wide grin. Sora and Naminé also stood and followed Kairi and Roxas back to the cave.

For the last hours of their free time, the four of them covered the inside space of the cave with silly drawings and pictures. Roxas and Sora found out early that Naminé and Kairi were way better at drawing than them. They had all drawn a starfish of their own and while Kairi and Naminé's drawings at least looked like stars, theirs just looked like a circle with lines jutting out.

Roxas finished playing his second game of tick-tac-toe with Naminé and turned to see that Sora and Kairi were huddled close together next to the cave wall. He turned to Naminé and held a finger to his mouth while signaling her with his other hand to follow. She nodded and they slowly tip toed up behind Sora and Kairi. They had just finished drawing each other on the cave wall. Kairi drew a decent looking Sora while Sora's Kairi looked like a bunch of scribbles.

When Roxas eyes meet Sora's attempt at Kairi, he couldn't help but to laugh loudly. Sora and Kairi whipped their heads around and saw Naminé giggling and Roxas laughing behind them. They didn't even hear them creep up.

"Sora, what is that? A monkey?" Roxas asked through his laughter. Sora slightly blushed and then tackled his brother to the ground. They wrestled for a bit and called each other monkey related insults before Kairi and Naminé both called for their attention.

"Naminé says it's time to go home." Kairi announced for her sister. Roxas and Sora looked at each other before nodding and began to untangled themselves. Once they were finally free, they walked with Naminé and Kairi out of their newly established secret clubhouse. None of them noticed the keyhole Riku had seen earlier slowly fading as they walked away.

Once they were outside of the cave, Sora called for them to stop, much to everyone's confusion.

"What's wrong Sora?" Roxas asked.

"Nothing's wrong, but don't you think we should make up a secret handshake for our clubhouse? That way, only we can get in." He explained. They all nodded there heads in agreement and their faces then screwed up in concentration.

"I can't think of anything." Kairi said sadly after a couple of minutes. Sora and Roxas also looked downcast.

"I have one." Everyone turned to face Naminé whose face held a small smile. "All we have to do is a special type of noise for the number of letters in your name. That way, it won't be the same and if someone see's it and tries to copy it, they'll be wrong." she suggested. She knew Sora and probably Roxas would be a little confused, but Kairi understood.

"Like this guys." Kairi said. "I want my noise to be snapping. And since I have five letters in my name, I snap my fingers five times." Kairi snapped her fingers five times before she turned to Naminé.

"Mine is clapping and I have six letters." Naminé then proceeded to clap six times. Roxas and Sora turned to each other with wide smiles.

"Mine will be stomping!" They both said at the same time. They turned to glare at each other.

"I said it first!" Sora yelled.

"Well, I'm older so I get it!" Roxas countered. They bickered for another minute or so before Kairi yelled for them to stop.

"How about Sora has to stomp with his right foot and Roxas has to stomp with his left foot?" Sora and Roxas looked thoughtful they both nodded their heads solemnly and then demonstrated their secret handshake.

"But guys, is this really a handshake? We aren't even shaking." Roxas asked.

"Well, if we say secret handshake, people will think it's really a handshake and never get it right." Kairi smirked at the thought of people attempting to guess their secret handshake.

* * *

It had been a pretty long day and Roxas was really tired. He enjoyed his daily job of waking up Sora in the morning, they caught fish and crabs and made seaweed for them to live, explored a secret cave with a jammed shut door, made it into clubhouse, and made up a secret handshake to get in.

Sora had already gone to sleep and he was in a trance close to unconsciousness. He didn't know how long he was in this trance of being half asleep and half awake, but after a while he became aware of a constant desperate whisper in the back of his mind. For a couple of minutes, he guessed it was just part of a dream he was having, but it constantly grew louder and louder. He couldn't understand what the voice was saying, but it sounded sad and very scared. The voice began to get quieter after a couple of minutes. Roxas sighed and started to fall back into his lull.

_'MAKE IT STOP!'_ A voice cried. Roxas jolted up in his bed. He looked over at Sora's bed to find him sitting up with his covers over his head. Roxas quickly got out of his bed and maneuvered toward Sora's. The closer he got, the more Sora's whimpers could be heard.

Roxas carefully climbed on Sora's bed and fell onto his knees. For a few moments, he just looked at the shaking whimpering form that he knew was Sora. He grabbed the bottom of the cover and slowly lifted it away from Sora's head so he could see him. Sora was sitting with his knees tucked into his chest with his arms wrapped tightly around them and his head resting on his knees, hidden.

Roxas put his hands on the bed and slowly crawled closer to his brother. Sora lifted up his face from his knees and their eyes met. Sora's face was wet with hot tears and snot. His eyes were puffy and red and his hair was damp and limp from sweat. His face had the expression of utter terror.

"What's wrong?" Roxas asked softly. Sora just shook his head and pulled up his arm to wipe away the fresh tears that was falling from his eyes in the crook of his elbow. From the way Sora was acting, Roxas concluded must have had a nightmare, but Sora always told him when he did and he never cried so much. Not knowing how to make him feel better, Roxas came up with the best solution he could think of. Roxas put on a serious expression as he looked at Sora directly in the eyes.

"Sora, I'm going to go get mommy okay? She'll know how to make you-" He was interrupted when his mind was suddenly filled with shouts of protest.

_'DON'T LEAVE! Don't leave! Don't leave me alone! Please don't go. Make it stop.'_ Sora's voice repeated with a cry. Roxas was temporarily stunned at what was happening. Sora was talking to him directly to his mind! Sora mouth didn't even move. All this time, Roxas believed telepathy didn't exist, but Sora was doing it right now. How was it possible? Roxas was pulled from his own thoughts when Sora's muffled whimpers became louder.

Deciding to put aside his questions for later, Roxas gently wrapped his arms around Sora's shaky form as he started to cry a little harder. They stayed like that for a while until Sora's cries finally turned into quiet sniffles. Sora pushed his brother away a little so he could lie down on his bed. Roxas lied down next to him and gently patted his shoulder until he fell asleep. After he was sure Sora was sleeping, Roxas wiped some of the remaining tears from Sora's face with the covers and pulled up the others to cover both of them.

Roxas wasn't sure what was going on with Sora, but he knew it wasn't something good at all. Suffering from his own exhaustion, Roxas soon fell asleep also.

* * *

_An older looking man stood in front of a big window looking out at an unknown town. This room was his temporary base until he found a more suitable location. The man was interrupted from his gazing when a younger man entered the room._

"_Master, the girls are no longer there, we've searched the whole town and the castle, but they cannot be found." A man's voice announced._

"_I see, so we've started another game of hide and seek." The older man chuckled deeply. He had ordered for Radiant Garden to be searched and destroyed. "Do you have anything else important to tell me?" he asked._

"_Yes, master," The younger man continued. "There is news from our spy at The Land of Departure. He said the boy is planning to take a trip to another world to visit family. The other boy is also going with him." He finished._

"_Family. I see. Did the spy find out where his family lived?" Capturing him would be easier than he thought, but he wanted to make sure the information was real; he already knew where where he was from.  
_

"_Yes, it's a little world called Destiny Islands." Upon hearing this, the older man laughed loudly and stopped abruptly._

"_There's no place like home." He muttered quietly. "Thank you for your report, when you leave, tell Vanitas to come in." He added. The younger man, nodded and left the room without a second glance._

_He sighed deeply. Through years of his own research and studies of ancient text, he had finally found the answers he needed. All the answers he wanted. He already achieved one of the three requirements needed to unlock Kingdom Hearts and use its power. The fourth requirement wasn't exactly necessary, but it would make opening Kingdom Hearts a hundred times easier than without it._

_The first requirement to unlock and control Kingdom Hearts always seemed to escape his grasps. He had finally tracked down him down and even captured him the first time, but he was rescued. And since then, he has been under extra protection even though the people protecting him don't know who he is and how much power he possessed.  
_

_To finish the second requirement, he only need two more of the Princesses of Heart, but when he had finally learned their identities and location, they were whisked away to somewhere unknown. It all frustrated him to no end. Before he could further curse his luck for working against him, his favorite apprentice casually strolled into the room. _

"_You wished to see me Master?" Vanitas asked._

"_How would you like to join Ventus in his little family get together?" The older man asked as a crooked grin spread across his face._

"_It would be my pleasure, Master Xehanort."_

_

* * *

_Woo hoo! I think I'll be just uploading on the weekends after this... don't want to run out of typed chapters :D

_Rewind Before Returning Please!_

All right! So firstly, this is when they all discover the secret cave! X3 Till now, it was hidden behind a heavy wall of vines and no one even gave the space on the rock a second glance.

Riku sees the keyhole on the door! But why did it slowly fade as _'they'_ left the cave hmm? Hmm?! Well, that will probably have something to do with something else later. (Do you hear 'highly possible sequel' you ask?! Nah, you're just hearing things.)

Now for the nightmare. That is a story to be told next chapter. Yup yup. This is a really scary dream for a 4 year old to witness. (And it's not about the boogie man.) Care to take a guess anyone?

**THE IMPORTANT INFORMATION PEOPLE!**

I'm sure your wondering about those 4 requirements to unlock Kingdom Hearts aren't ya? I won't reveal them all yet, but I'll tell you about the one he already has and a change in the Princesses.

1. The first requirement has yet to be revealed. I'm sure you can build many assumptions though. I'll tell you to be careful in which you believe. (If your picking up on the multiple possibilities I've attempted to hint at. U_U)

2. The requirement he has already fulfilled is to obtain the Kingdom Key and the Kingdom Key D/Inverse Kingdom Key... there's nothing much to elaborate with this, but it doesn't have anything to do with the Xblade. Similar purpose though. This requirement is easier to handle if one decides to obtain the 4th requirement. (_**HINT HINT HINTERS**_ = 2 at x)(Got it? XD)

3. The 7 Princesses of Heart of course! But I replaced Alice with Naminé. Alice was always so random to me. Why not Ariel with legs? She IS a princess.

MX(Master Xehanort) Has already captured Cinderella, Bella, Aurora, Jasmine, and Snow White under the radar. Why them under the radar and then decide to suddenly destroy Radiant Garden? Because he was trying to draw the attention of _'the people who are protecting him'_ so he would be easier to get to. (You do know who I'm currently talking about by now right? O_O)

4. Lastly, the extra requirement is also left unrevealed. XD Just know **it's tied together deeply with the first requirement**. Yes, I put that in **bold** on _purpose_. It's a _super mega uper duper **hint**_. But you won't know what's it's hinting until... *looks through notes* hmm... it hasn't been written down yet XD. (Writing stuff down is a lot of work. D:) It'll be a few chapters though. Also, you really only need it for the 2nd requirement, unless they decide they need the extra strength. Yup yup. Can you guess what it is? Betcha can't :P

I hoped you enjoyed it~! Laters~


	6. Clean Up Day

_**A/N: **_This chapter is sorta crappy imo :I .... There is an important note at the end of this. Also, this chapter was beta-ed! The others will eventually be beta-ed too, but I don't they will change too much. Thank you so much AngelOfLostLight!!! ;D

Oh yes, **GRAPHICISH WARNING?!** (New word) It's not too graphic in my opinion... but when I was 4, my favorite movie to watch was Child's Play. SO... yeah.

Thanks for the help AngelOfLostLight(beta!) and CrimsonDarkness 0013(plot assistant!)!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too....

* * *

**Clean Up Day**

_Sora was woken up by the sound of clashing metal and cries of pain that one would only associate with death. He slowly cracked his eyes open to see a pretty blue moon in the sky above him. It felt so close to him that he was almost sure he could touch it, but his eyes told him differently since it was hundreds upon thousands of miles above him. The odd thing about this moon was that it was in the shape of a perfect heart. He had never seen anything so perfect. _

_Done with his observation of the heart shaped moon, Sora sat up to observe his surroundings. There were people all around him dressed in armor. They were also wielding strange blades of various shapes, but all of them somehow resembled a key. Sora tried to stand up to further observe and figure out what was going on, but his legs were numb and he couldn't stand._

_The last thing he remembered was lying on his bed, preparing to go to sleep. How did he end up in this place? As Sora watched the people battle the scenery kept shifting between a beautiful grassy landscape and the horrible barren desert with the armored figures battling. __**'What's happening?' **__Sora thought. He tucked his legs into his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around them. Soon, the landscape stopped shifting and stayed set on the battle._

_The people were fighting continuously. Every once in a while, someone would try to approach him, but they were quickly knocked back by someone else. There was blood splattered all across the once grassy landscape and many key shaped blades had been lodged into the ground. Left. Forgotten. Abandoned._

_Sora watched in terror. He was unable to do anything but watch the armored figures fight and die. He didn't even know what they were fighting for. He couldn't tell who the good guys were and who the bad guys were, like he could in video games. They all looked the same. Two of the armored figures would help one another for one instance and suddenly be fighting against each other. Sora didn't understand. He wanted to tell them to stop fighting and killing each other, but no voice came out when he tried to speak._

_Suddenly, an armored figure broke through the barrier of fighting figures and was headed directly for Sora at a fast pace. Sora watched with widening eyes as he came closer. The figure was about six feet from Sora before he suddenly jerked to a stop and fell to the floor lifeless. On the figures back was a deep gash that had a key-shaped blade protruding from it. Sora could see the blood beginning to seep from under him. Sora opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Tears began to stain his face. '__**Make it stop.' **__He whispered mentally as he jammed his eyes shut, only to open them again when he heard someone else approach. _

_This person was able to get closer to Sora than the one from before. More tears began to fall on his face. He watched with utter terror as the figure reached out to touch him. '__**Don't hurt me!' **__he cried mentally and he shut his eyes once again. He kept them closed and waited for the figure to grab him, but was confused when a warm liquid suddenly splashed on him. _

_He opened his eyes and slowly lifted them to meet where he assumed the armored figures eyes would be, only to see they no longer had a head. Shaking violently, Sora looked down to his own body and saw he was covered in blood. He jammed his head into his knees. He attempt to scream at the top of his lungs, but his voice was muted. His dry mouth hung open as he screamed silently. '__**MAKE IT STOP!'**_

_**

* * *

**_Roxas woke up a bit dazed and sat up in bed. He took in his surroundings and realized that he was in Sora's bed. He was confused before he turned his head to look at his brother. Sora's eyes were still puffy and a few tears leaked from them, streaming down his cheeks. His face was flushed and his hair was still limp with sweat.

The previous night, Sora had had a nightmare, Roxas recalled. He lied back down next to his brother and gently patted his cheek hoping he would wake up easy this morning. His hopes were answered when Sora slowly cracked open red eyes. He brought his hands up to wipe away the tears that tickled his face and yawned quietly.

Roxas just watched his brother for a while until Sora finally met his eyes.

"... Are you okay Sora?" Roxas asked quietly with a worried tone. Sora just looked at him dazed for a moment before he slowly nodded his head. "Did you have a nightmare?" He asked. Sora nodded again and brought his hand up to wipe away the fresh tears that began to fall.

Roxas paused in his questioning and patted Sora on the shoulder until he calmed down again. He really didn't know what he was doing, but when they had nightmares before their mother would talk them through it. When they finished talking about the dream, they always felt better afterwards. It was like magic.

But for some reason, he felt that their mom couldn't make Sora feel better this time. Only he could. And it wouldn't feel like magic in the end.

"What was it about?" He asked. Sora slowly released a shaky sigh and began to recall his nightmare.

"I woke up a-and I wasn't in my bed," Sora began quietly. "There was a pretty heart moon in the sky when I opened my eyes. It was so c-close that I thought I could touch it. T-then I sat up and people in armor were fighting each other with swords that looked like k-keys." He paused to wipe more tears from his face. "I tried to stand up, but my legs were asleep. And I tried to talk and tell them to stop, but my voice wouldn't come out." Sora stroked his throat with his hand.

"A-and every time someone tried to touch me, someone else would come and knock them back." At this point, Sora's eyes began to widen, the fear during the dream radiated from his body with renewed strength. "O-one guy got close and then he fell on the g-ground a-and started bleeding a lot. H-he had one of those swords in h-his back." He whimpered.

_'I was so scared.' _A voice cried softly in Roxas mind. He knew it was Sora, but he still didn't know how he was doing it.

"Then another one c-came and he almost touched me, so I c-closed my e-eyes." Sora shut his eyes tightly and his voice dropped to a desperate whisper. "B-but when I opened them back up, his h-head was gone." Sora's voice cracked at the end, but he was able to hold back his tears. He opened his eyes and met Roxas's.

Sora and Roxas were silent for a while; just looking into each others identical eyes. They were a beautiful blue that resembled the blue only found near the deep parts of a tropical ocean. Their older brother Ven also had them. They had all gotten them from their mother.

They were broken out of their trance when they heard their mother leave her room and walk down the hall, probably going to get breakfast ready. Sora released another sigh. Roxas could see that Sora was calm to some degree and wouldn't be breaking out in tears anytime soon. So he asked the question that plagued him since last night.

"Sora... Were you using telepathy?" Sora looked confused for a moment before a look of understanding replaced it.

"I might have been doing it on accident, like you did." He said. Roxas was startled by his answer.

"'On accident like I did'? I've never used telepathy."

"Yes you have. When we were going into Kairi's house to finger paint and you touched me, you were thinking 'He is weird' or something like that. I don't remember. But I jumped back because it was really loud in my head and it scared me." Sora replied. Roxas thought for a moment, but he couldn't remember what he was thinking either.

"So we can talk to each other in our minds now?" Roxas asked.

"I guess so... I don't know how. We've been doing it on accident." Sora repeated. Roxas thought back to the incident Sora referred to. When Sora stopped, Roxas was a little worried and was wondering what was going on in his head. Maybe that's how he did it.

"Sora, I'm going to try to do it on purpose okay? Tell me if you hear anything." Sora nodded seriously. _'Do you hear me?'_ Roxas asked in his mind. Sora didn't respond to anything so he guessed it didn't work. He tried a little harder this time, trying to put himself in Sora's head. _'Do you hear me Sora?'_ He asked again.

This time, Sora flinched and nodded his head. A small smile spread across his lips. "Yes, I hear you, but you think too loud." He replied. Roxas chuckled.

"Now you try." He said. Sora nodded his head again and adopted a look of concentration on his face. A couple of minutes passed and Roxas didn't hear so much as a whisper.

"... uh, Sora are you even trying?" He asked.

"Of course I'm trying. But it's not working!" He pouted. "How did you do it?"

"I just thought about being in your head." He answered. Sora's face turned to concentration again. This time, Roxas heard the faintest whisper in his head.

"I can hear you, but I don't know what you're saying. It sounds like mumbling and it's really quiet."

"But I'm yelling at you!" He answered. Roxas narrowed his eyes and Sora suddenly found the ceiling interesting.

"Why would you yell? I was talking normally and it was already loud enough!" Roxas said angrily. Sora laughed. Roxas kept his annoyed expression, but he was happy that Sora's nightmare didn't put him down too much. He let Sora laugh a little more and all was quiet again.

"Maybe you just need more practice." Roxas suggested. He was confused as to why Sora could do it perfectly fine unconsciously, yet unable to do it if he tried.

"Maybe." Sora huffed. Roxas sighed and realized they should probably get up soon for the day ahead.

"What do you want to do today Sora? We could go draw in our secret club house some more." Roxas suggested. Sora didn't answer and Roxas's worry crept onto his face. Seeing this, Sora just shook his head.

"I... don't really want to go outside today." He finally answered. Sora was tired, more so than usual. He didn't want to do much of anything today but lie around in bed, but his mother would never let him do that.

"Well... what do you want to do?" Roxas asked. Sora simply shrugged. Roxas sighed again and climbed off of Sora's bed, but he didn't walk off. He had a strange feeling that he should stay close to Sora and not be separate for too long.

Following his example, Sora carefully climbed off of his bed. He never got to experience a morning where his feet didn't hurt from stepping on sharp objects. It was refreshing. Sora smiled and walked with Roxas to the bathroom.

* * *

"I've got you now Roxas!" Sora shouted excitedly as he finally passed Roxas in the race. Sora had finally decided he wanted to play video games all day. He and Roxas were in the living room playing Mario Kart on their Wii.

"You wish!" He responded and easily regained the lead. By the end of the race they were about neck to neck heading toward the finish line. Right when Sora was about to win a race against Roxas for the first time ever, their mother suddenly stepped in front of the TV and turned it off.

"Mommy! I was just about to win against Roxas! Why did you turn it off?" He whined. He instantly straightened up when his mother turned back around with a serious expression on her face.

"Sora. Your side of your room is an absolute mess! I've told you many, many times to keep it clean so no one would get hurt trying to walk across the room!" She scolded with her hands on her hips. Sora cringed under her gaze.

Roxas just chuckled. He suddenly thought up a great way to rub how right he was in Sora's face, or rather his head.

_'I told you so.' _he said in his mind. Sora shifted slightly and then turned to glare at Roxas. He knew he got the message so he laughed quietly. If his mother heard him laughing, he would have gotten in trouble too.

"You aren't allowed to play any video games until your room is spotless and everything is put where it's supposed to be. Understand young man?" She questioned.

"Okay." Sora mumbled under his breath.

"I can't hear you."

"Yes, mommy."

"Good. I'll be there to check in thirty minutes." She finished. Sora sulked back to their bedroom and Roxas followed him with a big grin.

* * *

"Sora, if you do that again, you're going to get into even more trouble." Roxas said as he watched his brother from his bed. Sora, lazy as usual, decided to try and trick their mother by shoving everything into the closet. Roxas warned him it would never work and she would know.

"Be quiet Roxas. I know what I'm doing. Okay?" Sora muttered.

"Well, when you get in trouble again, I'll just tell you 'told you so' again." He replied. Sora paused in his actions for a moment to stick his tongue at Roxas before continuing with his chore.

"She won't find out! It's perfect. She wouldn't look to see if the closet is clean if the floor is clean. She'll think the closet is clean too." He reasoned. Roxas just shook his head and fell backwards onto his bed and gazed at the ceiling. He turned his attention back to the room when Sora shut the closet door, but continued to lie on the bed.

"I'm finished mommy!" Sora called. He waited a couple of minutes before their mother entered the room. She looked at Sora's side with a critical eye. She already knew he had stuffed everything into their closet. She walked straight to the closet doors and flung them open. Everything Sora stuffed in there tumbled out around her feet. She paused and then turned around to Sora who had his hands grasped behind his back and looking down at his feet.

"Sora!" She said. He snapped his head up to see his mother approaching him. Sora knew he was probably going to be spanked now. He was surprised that Roxas hadn't already told him 'told you so'.

He watched her approach and he noticed that his vision was wavering on the edges. As she approached, she slowly changed into the figure without a head. Sora sucked in some breath and jammed his eyes shut. He brought up his hands to cover his eyes. He was shaking from head to toe in fear. It was from the dream he had last night.

_'It's not real!' _He repeated to himself.

Sora's mother watched in confusion. She had intended to spank him, but the closer she came to him, the more he started to shake. She was about three feet away from him and he suddenly closed his eyes and used his hands to further shield them.

She stopped in her tracks. Sora had never reacted this way to a spanking. She barely tapped her sons on the bottom when they did some wrong, but it got her point across. But now, Sora was acting as if she were threatening him with a knife. She reached out to touch him but jerked to a stop when Roxas suddenly shouted.

"Wait mommy!" Roxas called. He jumped off of his bed and ran up to where she was standing. Although he had been lying down on his bed till now, he was breathing hard and sweat trickled down his face.

* * *

After Sora had stuffed all his mess into the closet and closed it, Roxas had dozed off a bit. He was vaguely aware that his mother had entered the room, no doubt already knowing what Sora did. He was close to falling asleep when a scene suddenly interrupted his peace. Although everything was blurry and dim, Roxas could see that he was looking into his knees. His eyes slowly opened and met with two poles he assumed was someone's legs.

Unable to control where his vision went, his view slowly traveled up what he assumed to be a person, but its body was bulky and ridged like they were in a metal armor. His vision continued to rise until it stopped where the person's head was, or where it was supposed to be.

_'It's not real!'_ a voice cried. Roxas gasped and sat up in his bed. He saw his mother approaching Sora with confusion written on her face. He looked down at Sora who was visibly shaking with his hands covering his eyes.

* * *

Roxas was standing in between Sora and his mother trying to control his breathing. He guessed what he just saw was a part of Sora's nightmare he had before and he was watching from Sora's point of view. Why he was able to see it, he didn't know and was a little scared to find out.

"What's wrong Roxas?" His mother asked. Her voice was a mix of confusion and fear. She didn't know what was going on with them. Roxas stood there and looked at her for another moment before turning around to look at Sora, who was still shaking with his eyes covered. Roxas reached out and grabbed Sora by his shoulders, causing him to flinch violently.

"Sora?" He called, but he didn't respond and continued to cover his eyes. He was almost in the same state as he was the night before, but he wasn't crying. "Sora?" He called again, but still got no response. Roxas paused in thought for a moment before he tried something new.

_'Sora? Can you hear me?'_ He echoed through his mind. There was a pregnant pause before Sora rigidly nodded his head. Once Roxas got confirmation, he continued. _'You know it's not real. It was just a dream. You don't have to be scared.' _As he talked, Sora's shaking lessened. After a couple of minutes, Sora brought his hands down and Roxas also dropped his. Only one tear had stained his face.

"Roxas? What's going on?" His mother asked. Her voice was a little shaky. Roxas turned to face his mother. He didn't see the harm in telling her about Sora's nightmare, but he hesitated.

"Nothing's wrong." Sora said quietly. She was about to object but Roxas cut her off.

"Mommy, Sora isn't really feeling good today. That's all." There was a long pause before she stood up and walked to the bedroom door.

"Sora, I can see you're not feeling well, but please clean up your room. Okay?" She asked quietly. He nodded and she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

She continued to walk all the way to the living room and plopped down on the arm chair. She was utterly lost. Both of them were acting strange. She knew something was off while they were eating breakfast. Sora wasn't whispering quietly to Roxas about his sore feet and Roxas wasn't threatening to tell on him about the room under his breath. They never knew she could hear them the whole time.

They ate quietly all through their meal. Sora never looked up from his cereal and Roxas occasionally glanced at him as if he were worried. When Sora suddenly jumped up in his chair and loudly told Roxas he wanted to play video games, she thought that she was probably thinking too much. But now, she knew she wasn't. They had never acted this way before, even when they were sick or something related. From the look Roxas gave her, they were definitely hiding something.

She sighed heavily. She felt so helpless. Her two youngest sons were keeping something from her, and by the way Sora was acting, it was probably something very frightening. She vaguely wondered if Sora and Roxas were drifting away from her, wondered if they even wanted her help. She had always been the first one the twins ran to when they were scared, and she would always comfort them, and fight away whatever fearful entity her children claimed to be plaguing them. But now she felt like she couldn't help them; that this was something Sora and Roxas had to overcome on their own.

Sighing once more, she scooted forward a bit and reached her hand out to grab a letter she had gotten earlier that day. She opened the already broken envelope and pulled out the letter to read it again.

_Hey Mom. This is Ven. I wanted to let you know that I'm coming home for the twins birthday and I'm bringing two of my friends. Sorry I haven't written much, but I'm fine and my training is going well._

_See You Soon,_

_Ven_

She chuckled a bit. He was never one for writing letters. When he did, they were always simple and short with no detail.

_'I wish you were here now to help me.'_ She thought. Her oldest son always knew how to find out what they were hiding. She was shaken from her musings when someone knocked on the door.

* * *

"Sora, do you want me to help you?" Roxas asked again. When their mother left, Sora sat down on the floor and tucked his legs in his chest. Roxas sat down next to him and watched Sora as he watched himself wriggle his toes. He wouldn't talk or anything. Roxas sighed heavily. There was a long silence before he spoke again.

"You know, Sora, I saw some of your dream when I was half asleep a minute ago." Roxas said. He knew this grabbed Sora's attention because he stiffened and stopped wriggling his toes. "I only saw a blurry version, but it was still scary." Now Sora turned his head to look at his brother. "It was scary, Sora, but it was only a dream. We can't stay scared or else we'll worry mommy." He explained. Sora contemplated and looked back down at his feet.

Roxas was about to continue before their bedroom door opened and Riku, Kairi, and Naminé walked in. Sora lifted up his head and the room was filled with awkward silence.

"...What are you guys doing here?" Roxas asked. Riku crossed his arms across his chest and tapped his foot impatiently. He had come over to scold them for not showing up to the sparring match. He met Kairi and Naminé on the way over and they insisted they come along.

"Did you guys forget? You promised me a spar today." He said. When neither of them responded, he lifted an eyebrow. Usually, Sora would already be stuttering some excuse about it being Roxas's fault, but he was silent.

"Sora wasn't feeling good today and didn't want to go outside." Roxas explained. "And right now, Sora has to clean his side of the room."

"That's what your mommy said." Kairi added. "Well, since Sora isn't feeling good, how about we help clean your room?" Naminé nodded in agreement, but Riku snorted.

"Kairi, you should never ask to clean Sora's room. It's a pigsty." He said as he pointed to the closet where miscellaneous stuff currently flowed from. He knew Sora had tried to trick his mom again by putting everything into the closet.

Kairi huffed. "It's not that messy! It just needs to be organized!" Roxas wondered what she considered to be messy.

"Do you want our help?" Naminé asked again, unaware she had repeated something similar to what Roxas asked earlier. Sora glanced at each of them before he quickly looked back down at his feet. Roxas was worried he wasn't going to answer, but smiled when he realized Sora was hiding a blush.

"Please?" He answered quietly.

* * *

Everyone had gone home after helping Sora clean up his room. He had eventually opened up and enjoyed himself, while cleaning none the less. But as night came closer, Roxas noticed he became quieter. He was also very slowly getting ready for bed, like he didn't want to go to sleep. When they had nightmares before, they would sleep with their mom for a couple of days, but since they decided not to tell her, he couldn't really just ask to sleep with her without telling her why. So Roxas did the next best thing.

"Hey Sora?"

"Yeah?" Sora responded. They were walking at snails pace back to the bedroom.

"Do you want to sleep with me tonight? I know you're scared." Roxas teased. To his surprise, Sora ran past him into their room. He was shocked. He ran into the room after Sora and found him sprawled over his bed so he had no where to lie down.

"Hey!" Roxas shouted. He jumped on his bed and shoved Sora over to one side and lay down next to him. Sora laughed heartily. "Are you feeling better now?" He asked. Sora turned on his side to face Roxas and nodded with a smile.

"I'm not scared anymore. It was just a dream, right?" He replied. In all honesty, he was still afraid, but only if he was by himself.

* * *

When they had fallen asleep, their mother crept into the room. She was a bit surprised that they had slept in the same bed. She smiled as she approached Roxas's bed. They both looked relaxed, not tense like before. She just looked at them for a while and gently brushed their hair from their faces. She kissed them both lightly on their foreheads and tucked them in a little more comfortably before she quietly left the room.

That night, both of them had peaceful dreams.

* * *

_After this segment, Please Rewind the tape for Review_

-Well... this chapter not only is longer that the rest, but it took longer to write too. And only because expressing some of the emotional parts was SO cheesy to me :I . I rewrote them 3 times and they're still cheesy enough to eat in a grilled cheese sandwich. Examples of what I had trouble with:

--With their mom, I was trying to portray that yeah, she was in charge, she was worried about her kids, but she couldn't do anything about the situation. I hope you were able to get that. I wanted her little sitting on the couch thing to be more saddening and hopeless feeling, but breaking down in tears was so cliché.

--And with the boys, Sora was very, very scared. I know I didn't display that much in this chapter, but that's because something... more unpleasant will coming soon. I was going to have him a little more... twitchy and paranoid, but then he might have been mistaken as a psychopath. We have Vanny for that.

--**But**, AngelOfLostLight helped me out with some of those emotional parts :D So they aren't really cheesy anymore! *Takes down the cheese warning*

**IMPORTANT YEAH?**

-So, before you get confused, I'll tell you about the part where Sora suddenly saw that beheaded figure as his mom.

1. No, their mom isn't the beheaded figure from the dream. She has nothing to do with anything they are going through. She won't be involved in it either.

2. Sora was hallucinating. His mom was approaching him the same was that the figure was in his dream and some residual fear present itself as a hallucination causing... (#3)

3. Roxas in turn saw what Sora was envisioning, or what he had seen in his dream due to their new telepathic abilities. This will play a big part later on.

-Another point, although it technically is telepathy, they can only communicate with each others 'minds' _(cough)_. They can't walk up to Riku and know what he's thinking or speak to him in his mind. I can't tell you the reason for that yet though. There's a reason for that cough btw. *whistles innocently*

Hmm... what else... oh yeah. Ven doesn't like writing letters. lol

I hope you enjoyed this one... I spent 2 more days writing this than other chapters T_T. Laters~


	7. Welcome Home Venny!

_**A/N: **_Well, I said I would only update only on Saturdays from now on, but I won't have internet access this weekend!(Woo hoo College trip!) So, I give this to you now! The last Wednesday update ever_**! **(probably) _But this means you won't get chapter 8 till next Saturday! Sorry. -.-_ (I do give you a preview though! How nice of me! *grins evilly*)**  
**_

Ladies and Gentlemen. May I present to you, **Ventus** (Yes. This character entrance gets **bold****ed**.). The older brother. Please enjoy his older brotherliness. It's good for you. Sorry it's so short! DX

Thanks for the help AngelOfLostLight(beta!) and CrimsonDarkness 0013(plot assistant!)!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too....

* * *

**Welcome Home Venny!**

"Will your dad really let us bake these in the oven" Kairi asked.

"Duh, I already said he would a hundred times already. And if he doesn't, then I can just go ask my mom and she'll say yes. She always bakes stuff." Riku answered.

* * *

Earlier that day while the boys were sparring, Kairi and Naminé mentioned that their birthday was in two days. Because of all the chaos caused by Sora's nightmare, Roxas and Sora had forgotten their birthday was just a day away. The girls were delighted that their birthdays were so close together and decided they should all make cakes.

Roxas and Sora said they couldn't because their mother banned them from ever using the oven again after a certain incident. Kairi and Naminé wouldn't be able to get past the maid who works in their kitchen would never let them use the oven. And Riku couldn't because 'dad said boys don't cook.'

"I got it!" Sora exclaimed. They were all thinking of a way they could make cakes.

"Spit it out." Roxas said impatiently. Sora sent him a scowl but it was quickly replaced by a wide grin.

"We could make mud cakes. We don't need a kitchen to make them until we bake them!" Sora said. They all contemplated the idea before Roxas shot it down.

"But we still need an oven. None of us can get into the kitchen remember."

"Oh yeah." Sora said as he fell backwards onto the sand. They were all in a circle throwing out ideas on how to make the cake.

"I can get into my kitchen." Riku supplied. "And since we're making mud cakes, I can help make them. But I won't help bake them." Riku added.

"Why can you help make them but not bake them?" Kairi asked. Riku just sent her a 'you should already know look' before replying.

"Because, my dad says it's manly to play in the mud. But boys aren't supposed to cook stuff." He huffed. "And making mud cakes is playing in the mud."

"Well, I guess me and Naminé will bake them." Kairi said as Naminé nodded her head in agreement.

"Okay, we know we are making mud cakes, but where do we get the mud? There's only wet sand." Roxas interjected.

"Remember, there's a small creek behind my house. There's always lots of mud there." Riku answered.

"Then let's go! We gotta have those cakes done by tomorrow!" Sora shouted as he sat up and got to his feet.

* * *

They were all just about through making the third cake when Riku's father came out of the back door with a knowing grin.

"Hey Twins! I've got something good to tell you." He called. Ever since they were really young, he always called them Twins. He only called their names separately if they were in trouble, which was often.

Said boys got up and stood at attention while saluting. Riku's dad was considered to be the manliest guy on the whole island for the kids. All the boys wanted to be like him; whatever he said was like law. He told them what was manly and what was girly, but they didn't know it was all utter crap.

"Are you ready to hear the report soldiers?!" He said, feeding into their act.

"Yes sir!" They said in unison. Kairi and Naminé watched curiously while Riku just wanted to know what his dad had to say.

He bent down to Sora and Roxas eye level and put a serious expression on his face, causing both of them to gulp audibly.

"Listen well. There have been multiple reports of a person, codename: Venny, being spotted around the island." By the time he was finished talking, he was already smiling. For a while, Roxas and Sora silently processed the information.

"Venny is home?" They asked quietly. He nodded his head and suddenly the boys took off in the direction of their house. By now, Kairi and Naminé were thoroughly confused.

"Who's Venny?" Kairi asked.

"His name is Ventus, but they call him Venny. He is their older brother." Kairi's eyes widened considerably.

"Why doesn't he live with them?" Naminé asked.

"Yeah, don't older brothers live with their family?" Kairi added. Riku's dad adopted a sad expression before he answered.

"Well... I can't really tell you that and I don't know it all myself. But some bad things happened and he had to go away for a while." Naminé and Kairi could tell it was probably a secret, so they didn't ask any further.

"Do you guys want to meet him?" Riku asked. Naminé and Kairi turned to face each other before turning to Riku and nodding. "Then let's follow them." He said as he stood up and ran in the same direction Sora and Roxas went, Kairi and Naminé not far behind.

Riku's dad waved as they ran of into the distance.

* * *

_'I was right Roxas! I knew Venny was coming home soon!'_ Sora said in his mind. He didn't feel like talking through his huffing as they ran. Roxas didn't respond, but the smile on his face widened. Sora was getting better at their telepathy and their brother was home. Today was going to be a good day.

They continued to run through the town heading towards home, keeping an eye out for Venny on the way. They had finally made it to their house but both collapsed on their front lawn before they made it to the front door. The run had exhausted them. In desperation, they started to crawl to the door but stopped when they heard someone laughing behind them. They turned their heads at the same time to see Kairi, Naminé, and Riku laughing at them.

"What are you guys doing here?" They asked at the same time. They got no answer of course, because they were still laughing at them. Roxas and Sora waited patiently for them to stop with frowns upon their faces.

"Well, we wanted to meet your older brother! You never told us you had one!" Kairi answered.

"Oh...well, you never asked." Roxas responded. Kairi scowled and Riku spoke up.

"I don't think he's here."

"Why would you think that?" Sora asked confused. How would Riku know whether Venny was home or not?

"Because your mom is outside laughing at you guys. Wouldn't Venny be there laughing at you too if he was at home?" Riku asked rhetorically. Sora and Roxas turned their heads back to the house and their mother was indeed laughing at them.

"I'm afraid you guys weren't fast enough." Their mother started. "They just left looking for you."

"They?" Roxas and Sora asked from their position on the grass.

"Yes, they. Ven brought two of his friends to meet you." If they weren't excited before, they were now. With renewed energy, Sora and Roxas hopped up from the ground and ran to stand in front of their mother.

"Where'd he go?! Where'd he go?!" They chanted jumping up and down. Their mother smiled serenely before shrugging her shoulders. They stopped jumping and gaped at her.

"What do you mean you don't know?!" Sora shouted. She flicked him harshly in the nose. Sora huffed while rubbing his nose.

"Don't yell at your mother. Where are your manners?" She scolded. "Like I said, I don't know. He just said he was going to look for you." She answered. In reality, Ven was looking for them, but he was also going around town telling everyone about the surprise birthday party she and him planned for them.

"We're bound to find them if we just run around and look around right?" Kairi suggested. Roxas turned around and nodded eagerly.

"Let's go!" He yelled as he took off with the rest of them.

"When you boys get back, you're taking good baths! You're filthy!" She called after them.

* * *

"So Ven, you haven't really told us what you're brothers are like." Aqua said. She had been asking over the last couple weeks but kept getting the same answer. He had purposely hidden their photos in his room and never gave her any specific details about them when he told her stories.

"You'll see when you meet them." He replied with no small amount of cheerfulness in his tone. She struggled to keep her eye from twitching. He was doing it on purpose because he was smiling. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of her annoyance so she smiled tightly. Terra smirked at their antics.

They had arrived about and hour and a half ago. Terra and Aqua were surprised how pretty the island was. Ven took them around a while before he went home to see his mom. He had gotten embarrassed because as soon as she lied her eyes on him, he was kissing and hugging bait. She yelled at him for not writing enough, and then she cried a little because she was worried, but got back to yelling because he got there so late. Terra and Aqua laughed non-stop for at least ten minutes.

Ven stopped and turned around to face Aqua. "Listen Aqua. I'm sure you want to know all about them from me, but you'll be bored when they tell you about them themselves. Believe me: they have A LOT to tell." He said with a mischievous tone. Aqua lifted an eyebrow and then sniffed at the air as she started walking. Terra and Ven laughed.

* * *

"Have you seen Venny?" Sora asked the fifteenth person he'd seen randomly walking down the street. The person smiled, shook their head and continued walking. Sora grunted loudly and stomped his foot.

"When I see him, I'm going to yell at him and then beat him up!" He shouted. Roxas laughed while Riku, Kairi, and Naminé sighed.

They had been to every store and shop, but everyone said they don't know where he was. After they finished questioning all the shop owners, they began questioning random pedestrians who probably didn't know who 'Venny' was, but smiled just to be nice. Sora was just about ready to start knocking on peoples doors.

"Heya guys!" All of them turned to see Tidus running down the street towards them. "Guess who I just saw?!"

"VENNY?!" Roxas and Sora shouted.

"... no, I saw some new pretty lady with blue hair!" He exclaimed. Sora and Roxas looked downcast and their shoulders slumped.

"I've never seen a lady with blue hair on the island..." Riku said in deep thought.

"Didn't Sora's mommy say Venny brought two of his friends? Maybe she's one of them." Naminé suggested. At this Sora and Roxas perked up and then bombarded little Tidus with questions.

"What did she look like?!"

"Where was she?!"

"Was Venny with her?!"

"Was there someone else with her?!"

"What dire-"

"GUYS! You're scaring him!" Kairi interjected. Roxas and Sora stopped to look at her, then looked back to Tidus who currently had his eyes jammed shut with his hands covering his ears. He was shaking a bit too.

"S-sorry." They stuttered as they backed away from him. It was then Riku realized something strange. Roxas and Sora were talking more in sync than usual. They said almost every sentence at the same time. He was almost weirded out by it, but then figured it must be a twin thing. While Riku was pondering about Sora and Roxas's strange habits, Naminé had carefully approached the shaking Tidus.

"Hey Tidus? Do you think you can tell us where you last saw her?" She asked sweetly. Tidus slowly peeked open an eye. Sora and Roxas were no longer shouting in his face, so he put down his arms and released a relieved sigh.

"I saw her at the dock." He said softly. Naminé nodded and stood up. Kairi had already heard his answer and addressed Sora and Roxas.

"Tidus said he saw her at the dock. So maybe they went to Play Island?"

"Play Island it is then." Riku stated.

* * *

"Those guys are always everywhere when they need to be anywhere." Ven muttered under his breath. He admitted he was doing something else while looking for them, but he thought he would have run into them by now.

"The island seems so small. It's amazing that you have trouble finding anyone." Terra commented. The island really was small, but he assumed finding small children on a small island made it seem bigger.

"Well Ven, you might as well tell me at least what they look like now. That way, when we go back to look around the island again to look, I can spot them." She smiled widely. She knew he had no choice but to tell her something about them now. He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. After a moment, he sighed in defeat.

"Well the-"

"VENNY!" He had just enough time to turn around before he was tackled to the ground by two small figures and landed harshly on his back. He let out a pained groan as he sat up. Sora and Roxas climbed off of him and sat on their knees next to him, grinning like mad men.

"Venny! We've been looking all over for you!" Sora exclaimed.

"You've been hiding haven't you?!" Roxas asked with a bit of anger. Ven was still a bit dazed and looked at them blankly. Sora then remembered what he had said earlier. He turned to Roxas who apparently remembered also.

"And since you've been hiding, me and Roxas are going to beat you up!" He stated. Before Ven could reply, Roxas and Sora tackled him to the ground again and attempted to tickle him. Attempted that is.

"Haven't you guys learned? I haven't been gone that long! You should know you can't tickle me!" Ven flipped over so that he was above the boys and started to tickle them. Terra and Aqua watched the scene in amusement.

Ven tickled them for about a minute or so before both boys were screaming mercy. He let them sit up and catch their breath. He looked them over and was happy with what he saw for the most part. They both looked healthy. They could use a bath, since they were caked in dry mud, but other than that, they looked well. Ven also noticed something else and couldn't help but smile widely.

"Well, well, well. Roxas, are you copying my hair style?" He asked with a fake questioning tone. Roxas blushed brilliantly before shaking his head vigorously.

"No! It just looks kinda like your hairstyle. But it's not; it just looks like it is. But it's my own hairstyle, not yours. It just looks like it." He huffed. Sora muffled a cough that sounded distinctly like 'liar'. Roxas sent him an icy glare before jamming his elbow in Sora's ribs.

"Ow! What'd you do that for?!" Sora huffed as he rubbed his new sore spot. Ven laughed and ruffled their already messy hair, much to their annoyance.

A cough from behind them interrupted the brotherly reunion. Ven turned around to see Terra and Aqua waiting patiently. Ven smiled and turned back to the twins.

"Sora, Roxas, these are my two friends, Terra and Aqua." He got up and helped them to their feet. Sora and Roxas walked to stand in front of the duo and gaped with awe. Terra was kind of nervous. He didn't really know how to deal with kids that well. Aqua, on the other hand, was delighted. She had to resist from hugging them, they were adorable, minus the mud.

"You're so tall!" They said in unison as they observed Terra. He smiled at them.

"Way taller than Venny." Sora added.

"Yeah, Venny is short." Roxas agreed with a nod.

"He looks like a munchkin." Sora said earning another nod from Roxas.

"Hey! Why would you say that about your brother?" Ven asked. But they ignored him and turned their attention to Aqua.

"And you're pretty!" They exclaimed. She smiled brightly and bent down to their level, causing them to blush slightly.

"Why, thank you. And you two are very cute! I don't know what happened to your brother." She replied. Ven just laughed with sarcasm. When Aqua started to ask them questions, Ven turned his attention to Riku and two girls he's never seen on the islands before.

"Hey Riku! You've gotten taller, huh."

"Yep," was all he said. But he couldn't deny he was happy to see Venny. His smile said it all.

"And who might you two be?" He asked as he bent down to meet the two girls' eyes.

"I'm Kairi. And this is my sister Naminé. We just moved here to stay with our aunt and uncle." Kairi answered. Ven smiled a little. He noticed they were also twins.

"I see you are the new girls who moved in town to live with the mayor?" They nodded happily. "Well, I've been to see the mayor and he says your birthday is a day after Sora and Roxas's."

"Yeah! Oh! We forgot about the mud cakes Riku!" She exclaimed. Riku just shrugged.

_'That's why they're covered in mud.'_ Ven thought absently. "Well here's the deal. Everyone wants to throw Sora and Roxas a surprise birthday party. But they can't know okay? I came today because they would be too excited and would forget about their birthday tomorrow. So you guys can't do anything that reminds them of their birthday alright?" Ven asked. The girls were both wide eyed and had big smiles on their faces as they nodded. Riku also nodded.

Ven continued. "So, if you like, you could celebrate your birthday a day early with Sora and Roxas. It wouldn't be a surprise party, but a regular birthday party." He explained. Kairi jumped up a couple of times in excitement and then glomped Ven.

"Thank you Venny!" Kairi said. He smiled and patted her on the head.

* * *

"Ready for bed?" Ven asked Sora and Roxas. He helped them take a bath since their mother didn't trust them to take a thorough one themselves. Ven volunteered to do it.

"Yep." They answered. They zipped up their footies and headed out the bathroom door behind Ven. Sora and Roxas ran ahead of him into the living room.

"Looks like you two are ready to go to sleep." Aqua commented as they ran into the room. They simply nodded their heads. Aqua was surprised they didn't say anything. She finally understood what Ven meant when he said they had A LOT to say, or rather a lot to ask. She felt like she was being interrogated by almost five year olds. And when she asked them questions, each turned into full fledged stories that could be their own five hundred page novel. To say she was 'talked-out' would be an understatement.

Their mother came out of the kitchen and hugged them. "Good night. Say good night to them too." She said.

"Good night!" They yelled before running back down the hallway laughing. Ven rolled his eyes and smiled as he followed them.

He entered the room and both of them were in Roxas's bed. He was a bit surprised, but figured they started the habit while he was gone. He sat down on the bed as they got settled and comfortable.

"Good night." He said. He didn't want to say much else in fear he might remind them of their birthday. He ruffled their hair one more time and brought the covers up for them before he left the room and closed the door behind him. He walked back down the hallway and plopped down on the couch in between Terra and Aqua. After a moment, his mother brought out some juice for them to drink and she sat down in the arm chair with some warm tea. Ven told her a bit about his training and some other stories he had from living on the Land of Departure. Eventually, he asked the question that wouldn't leave his mind.

"Hey mom, when did they start sleeping in the same bed? They seem a lot closer now or something." Ven asked as he grabbed a cup of juice from the coffee table. The whole time he was with them, Roxas and Sora were practically shoulder to shoulder. They were normally close and all, but they didn't really like to sleep in the same beds.

"About a week or so ago.... they have been acting so strange. I don't know what's going on and they won't tell me." She explained. "I know they are hiding something and Sora doesn't want anyone to know but Roxas." She added. Ven nodded and sat back into the couch. He took a couple of sips from the cup.

"I can't do anything Ven; they aren't going to tell me. I've tried. They might tell you though." She paused. "Can you try and figure out what's wrong?" She pleaded. He hadn't seen his mom so worried since he had to move away to Land of Departure. He wondered what exactly had been going on while he was gone.

"I'll try." He answered. "I'm not sure if they will tell me either, but I'll find out what they're hiding eventually." His mother smiled and looked down into her tea.

"Thank you, Ven."

Terra and Aqua listened to the conversation curiously. It looked like their vacation could get interesting.

* * *

Woo Hoo! The short short ending!!!

**ALSO **I forgot to tell everyone I have a few KH drawings that go along with this fic ^_^ it's on my deviantart account: kirabook

Most of them are for chapter 3 I believe... Links are available on my profile! :D (They really aren't that spectacular...)

* * *

_To Rewind, Please Press the Button with 2 Arrows Pointing Backwards (duh)_

Well, this chapter felt SO SHORT. Gosh, I was trying to add in as much as I could :/ It kinda sucks too :I Hmmm...

So... **VENNY APPEARS**!!! YES! I really like his character. He's on my fav character list in case you didn't know. Sora is still my #1 though. Hey, I may torture him and stuff, but it's only cause I love him bunches. (Not like that though. He's cute and all, but he is fictional. I'm not one of _those_ types of fangirls.)

Let's see, Terra doesn't handle kids well... Aqua thinks they're cute (I do too)...

A ha! Their mom has hired Venny on the case for finding out their problem. Will he fix it? Or not? That is the question.

P.S . The next chapter might be split in 2! It could be my first cliff hanger!

* * *

**PREVIEW** (You might not want to read...)

_Roxas slowly opened his eyes and looked dazedly at the blue heart shaped moon in the blueish gray sky. It was strangely perfect and very intimidating. He felt so pressured by its presence, yet slightly warmed by it. In sudden realization, he shot up in sitting position and looked around him. People in armor were fighting with key shaped blades. Just like in the nightmare Sora told him about. But in this one, many people were already littered across the ground covered in blood._

_Roxas backpedaled in confusion and fear with wide eyes. **'Why am I here?' **He questioned. He yelped in surprise when he hit something behind him. _


	8. Happy Birthday to Us!

**_A/N: _**Well... I have to say, the actual birthday is only a small section of this whole chapter... Some more GRAPHIC stuff. Inspired by: The Crazies. Good movie there. Also added in some things Crimson thought would be more... gruesome. So the parts that seem a little extra on the violence was her input. XD

I enjoyed writing this chapter SO MUCH! Especially the... more dreadful parts. *grin* (So sorry my cute little twins!) This was originally going to be a chapter cut in half, but there wasn't a very cliffhanger like spot to cut it U_U Yes, I wanted a cliffhanger. So instead, you all get a big long chapter filled with scared children! Yay! Enjoy!

(P.S. Please vote on the poll on my page :D I really don't have a problem writing them, but would you rather me write out complete scenes that are exactly like BBS scenes, or kinda summarize them? Your choice! I would rather summarize them.)

Thanks for the help AngelOfLostLight and CrimsonDarkness 0013!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too....

* * *

**Happy Birthday to Us**

To say Ven was excited was an understatement. He was absolutely ecstatic. Last year, he and his mother wanted to do something fun for Sora and Roxas's fifth birthday and decided to make it a surprise. He thought he would have a whole year to accidentally slip and reveal the surprise, but living on a different world solved that problem.

Now that the plans were in place, all he had to do was keep them distracted and keep them away from Play Island. Their mother, Terra, Aqua, and some others were setting up the party in the cabin on the island. They had already left to do so.

Even though the party wouldn't start for hours, Ven figured he should get up anyway and get the twins ready. He got up slowly, savoring the feeling of sleeping in his own bed again. He yawned as he stretch and stood up from the bed. He opened his door and made his way to Roxas and Sora's room, but slowed when he heard whispering.

_'They're up already?' _He questioned to himself. Roxas did get up early for the most part. But Sora? Usually, Sora was only awakened by Roxas's strange phrases. Ven would hear them since Roxas always screamed them in Sora's ear, which was followed by yelps of pain from Sora for whatever reason.

He crept up to their door. As he got closer, he could hear their mumbles more clearly. Once he made it to their door and softly pressed his ear against it.

"-ou had it too?" He heard Sora ask.

"Yeah. It was nice. There weren't any scary people or nothing. Just the gray circles." Roxas answered.

"It was like the story. The big world turned into smaller ones."

"Huh... maybe it's true then..." Roxas trailed off. They became quiet for a moment. Ven was confused now.

"Maybe we should get up and attack Venny while he's still asleep?" Sora suggested.

"I dunno, he's tougher than I remember."

_'What in the world were they talking about? A dream?' _He decided to wonder about it later and opened their door, surprising them. Ven smiled and came to sit on the bed. He knew they didn't remember their birthday. By now, they would already be jumping all around the house asking for their presents. Or Sora would anyway. Roxas was satisfied with just a bit of jumping and more smiling.

The room became so quiet you could hear a needle drop. They stared at him for what seemed like forever before they turned to each other and nodded, as if having their own conversation. Ven raised an eyebrow as they turned around with big grins on their faces.

"Get 'em!" Roxas shouted as he jumped up in the bed and knocked Ven back onto it. Sora came and sat on his chest to keep him from moving and Roxas held his hands above his head. Ven just sat there and let them do what they wanted for a moment.

"We've got you now Venny! Me and Roxas know you're ticklish somewhere and we're going to find out where right now!" Sora declared. Ven just snorted and rolled his eyes, earning glares from Roxas and Sora.

"Don't laugh at us!" Roxas shouted. Even though he had been gone for a while, Ven still knew how to press their buttons easily.

"I didn't laugh. Did I? I snorted." He proved his point by repeating his snort and rolling his eyes. Both boys growled and began to search for his ticklish spot. While they were searching, he hummed loudly just to annoy them.

_'I can't find it Roxas! What if he really isn't ticklish?'_ Sora questioned telepathically. He didn't want Venny to know they were having trouble.

_'Don't give up! We gotta teach him a lesson!'_ Roxas said in reply.

"Are you guys done yet?" Ven asked, smirking. He suddenly sat up, almost making Sora roll off the bed. He grabbed Sora and sat him on the bed next to Roxas. They both adopted the same pouting face as they looked up to their older brother.

"No fair Venny! Were weren't done searching!" They said in unison. Ven was taken aback. Saying smaller sentences in unison wasn't a biggie; best friends could even do that. But that was two sentences right after another. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind assuming it must just be another twin thing, though they've never done it before.

"Well, we have to get ready to go. I haven't been on the island for a while and I want you two to show me around. Is that okay?" He asked, but they didn't have a choice anyway. Lucky for them, they agreed.

* * *

As they were walking around the island, Ven observed the boys very closely. Like he already saw, Roxas and Sora were practically shoulder to shoulder. They never walked within a certain distance away from each other. It was almost a complete change from before. Sora was pretty clingy, but Roxas liked to keep his distance for the most part.

At certain times during their walk, Roxas would cast Sora a strange look, who in turn would adopt a look of concentration. Roxas would look like he was waiting for something before they would both suddenly smile as if they realized something and nod. It could almost be described as creepy.

Their speech was also different. They talked in unison way more often. At first he just assumed it was a twin thing, but it occurred too frequently for it to be coincidental.

"Hey Venny."

"Yes Sora?"

"Did we ever tell you about out secret clubhouse?" Roxas answered.

They were all lying on the grass in the park looking up at the clouds. Sora and Roxas had already gotten bored of the 'cloud game' Ven told them about. He still needed to burn at least an hour before he took them to Play Island. He was running out of ideas to keep them busy.

"No. Is it cool?" Ven asked, trying to drag out the conversation.

"Yeah!" Sora yelled as he sat up. "At first it was hidden behind a whole bunch of vines, but me and Roxas tore them all down and there was a hidden cave!"

"We were going to go in by ourselves, but I wanted to get Riku first in case there were monsters that would eat us." Roxas added.

"Then we found Kairi and Naminé and they wanted to come too. But Roxas said girls can't be adventurers. But he looked over Kairi and said she had some muscles so she could handle a monster or two," Sora continued.

"Then we found Riku and we all went into the cave, but there weren't any monsters. So he was mad."

"But there was this cool door and we tried to open it, but it was like it was super glued shut." Sora crossed his arms and had a small pout on his face.

"Riku left and then we used Naminé's chalk to decorate the cave and made it our secret clubhouse!" Roxas finished. At first, Ven thought they were making it all up, but that was a lot to make up in a couple of minutes. They never did say where it was. This 'secret cave' could just be under Sora's bed.

"And where is this secret cave?" Ven asked. Maybe taking him there would distract them for another hour or so. He didn't see any harm in asking.

"On Play Island! Do you wanna see it?" They asked. Ven's eyes widened and he sat up quickly.

"Er... well. Maybe later." He cursed himself silently for bringing up Play Island again. "How about we get some ice cream?" He asked desperately. Roxas sat up and narrowed his eyes at Ven.

"Venny, that's the forth time you asked us if we wanted ice cream. Every time we talk about Play Island, you always say 'Oh, maybe later', 'We'll go there later', 'Let's do this first'. Why are you avoiding Play Island? Is there something there you don't want us to see?" Roxas accused. Sora and Roxas slowly crawled closer to him with accusing glares.

Ven really did love his brothers. More than anything in the world. But he cursed them for being too smart sometimes. He averted his eyes from them trying to think up a plan. He needed to keep them off the island for thirty minutes at the least. They wouldn't mind if he came a bit early right? But what else could he do? They already walked the island four times, ate ice cream three times (he was sure his mom would kill him for that), played tag five times, and watched the clouds two times. There was nothing else on the island that could distract them. He nibbled his lip in panic.

Ven turned his attention back to the boys when they stood up from the grass. They stood over him and stayed quiet and still. Ven's face adopted a look of confusion as they blankly stared at him. He was even more confused when they suddenly took off. He watched them as they sprinted away like their lives were on the line. He realized too late that they were heading towards the dock.

"Shoot!" He shot up from the ground and took off after them. Ven was fast. Very fast in normal human standards. But when Sora and Roxas were determined, they were super fast in normal standards. Ven had the advantage of longer legs so it wasn't too hard to catch up to them, but actually catching them was the hard part. He had to catch them before they made it into the water. He never understood why his mother wasted her money putting them in swimming class. They could swim like Olympic champions. If they made it to the water, he was doomed.

"Sora! Roxas! Get back here!" He yelled from behind them. They just turned their heads and stuck out their tongues. If it were possible, they only sped up.

Roxas and Sora knew for sure that Ven was hiding something on the island. He was always pretty straight forward unless he were lying or avoiding something. He was definitely avoiding Play Island. Whatever it was, they would find out. It must be something big too. Ven would never buy them three ice creams and then offer even more. Their mommy would kill him.

They had finally made it to the beach and were only about 10 feet from the water. They were both grinning like mad, but Ven was silently crying and praying his mom wouldn't kill him for messing everything up. He would get in even more trouble if they showed up to their party soaked.

"Guys! How about I just row you over there?! Please don't swim!" He begged. Roxas and Sora slowed down to a stop and turned around to face Ven. They were breathing very hard and would never make it to the island if they swam anyway. They all stood at a stand still and only their harsh breathing filled the silence.

_'Should we trust him?'_ Sora asked through his mind. Roxas studied their brother. While they were panting heavily and barely standing, Ven wasn't even out of breath. If he wanted to catch them now that they had stopped, he would have already.

_'I think so...'_ He answered. He and Sora stood up straight and approached their brother with caution. He looked like he just had a very 'relieving' bathroom break. Ven bent down to their eye level and smiled serenely.

"You two are life savers." He half sighed.

* * *

They arrived on Play Island but everything looked normal. Not a thing out of place. Roxas and Sora were confused as to why Venny would be avoiding the place.

"Follow me." He said louder than necessary. Sora and Roxas looked at each other before following their brother to the cabin. It was eerily quiet, even the waves didn't make much noise. As they approached the cabin, they noticed Venny's grin widen. They slowed down their walk and approached the cabin with suspicion.

They finally made it to the door and Ven spoke loudly once again. "Well, we're here." He said. Sora and Roxas narrowed their eyes and backed further away from the door. Ven just raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" He asked with a smirk. "Scared of what's behind the door?" He mocked. Sora and Roxas paled before adopting determined expressions and stalking up to the door. They looked at each other before Roxas slowly reached and pushed open the door. It was pitch black inside. They nervously walked into the room expecting something to jump out at them. They weren't entirely wrong.

In a sudden burst of light, the room lit up and people stood at every corner of the room.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday Twins!" They all yelled. Sora and Roxas were frozen in shock. Ven smiled as he came up from behind them. If they had been forty five instead of five years old, he predicted they would have fainted.

Roxas and Sora looked around the room with gaping mouths that opened and closed like fish. They had completely forgotten it was their birthday. How could they forget? As they glanced around the room, they spotted everyone they knew. Their mother, Terra, Aqua, Kairi, Naminé, Riku, Tidus, Wakka, and their parents were all smiling brightly at them. Someone cleared their throat behind them and turned to see Venny also smiling at them.

"This is what I was hiding." He answered. He smiled and spread out his arms in a way that called for hugging. Without a second thought, Sora ran into his brother's arms, but Roxas was hesitant and narrowed his eyes with suspicion.

"What's wrong Roxas? Won't you give your big brother a hug?" He asked with fake sadness. After a moment, Roxas slowly walked to his brother and quickly embraced him, planning to immediately pull away, but Ven wrapped his arms tightly around them. Roxas grunted as he tried to move, but to no avail. Seeing Roxas's struggle, Sora tried to pull away also, but Ven was too strong for them.

"What are you doing Venny?!" Sora grunted. Everyone in the room started to laugh much to their confusion.

"Did you bring them boys?" Ven asked to someone past them. Sora and Roxas turned their heads to the side to see Riku and Wakka smirking at them with their hands behind their backs. Slowly, they brought them to the front and both had wooden paddles. Roxas and Sora's eyes widened to the size of plates as they struggled to push out of their brother's grip.

"Let us go!" They screamed, but to no avail.

"Now, they only get five each so make it worth it." Ven commanded over their protests. Riku and Wakka nodded, then the paddling began.

* * *

The party went without a problem. The birthday boys sulked at the beginning because of their traditional bottom paddling, but eventually enjoyed themselves just as much as everyone else.

Ven had already planned out a loose schedule for the party that included games, dancing, eating, and lastly, opening presents. Kairi and Naminé introduced the boys to their new friend Selphie. They hadn't seen her on the island before, but Tidus confirmed that she was in his daycare class.

The gaming part of the celebration turned out to be quite the competition. Games like Limbo, Red Light Green Light and Hot Potato all caused heated friction between Riku, Roxas, and Sora. Or rather Sora was just upset the whole time. Riku was able to win against them easily, always getting first place. Roxas was satisfied with getting second place, as long as he beat Sora. But Sora was always third place. He could win easily against the girls, Tidus, and Wakka. But he could never beat Riku or Roxas. He adopted a pouting face till the gaming segment of the party was over.

The dancing part of the party was purposely planned out by their mother so she could get some embarrassing footage of their childhood silliness. She played "The Chicken Dance" and "YMCA" just to see the boys attempting to follow the steps Kairi and Naminé surprising knew. All the parents present happened to have a camera with them.

Aqua had thought up the idea of getting the four twins their own four separate mini cakes. That way, they were able to blow out their own candles. Just for fun, Terra suggested putting trick candles on Roxas and Sora's cake. They went on ten minutes straight attempting to blow them out and wouldn't let anyone interfere. Eventually, they gave up unwillingly, but enjoyed the cake anyway.

It was nearing the end of the party and they all finally got to open the presents. Sora and Roxas eagerly ripped apart the wrapping of their presents, but Kairi and Naminé, while not gentle, ripped away their wrappings less violently. Sora and Roxas both got their own remote control hummers from Riku's parents, much to their mom's annoyance. It was just one more thing she could slip on when Sora didn't put up his toys.

Their mother had gotten them some new outfits, they were less than eager to say thank you. They were given passes for a free special ice cream from Tidus's parents and personalized blitz balls from Wakka's. Lastly, Terra, Aqua, and Ven had gotten all the kids better wooden swords than the ones they usually used. These wouldn't splinter their hands. All the boys ended the party with a sparring match.

* * *

They had all made it home now and Ven had just finished helping Roxas and Sora get ready for bed. At first they resisted his help saying, 'Five year olds are old enough to get ready by themselves'. He countered with 'You weren't saying that when you asked me to help in the morning'. They stopped protesting after that.

They climbed into bed as Ven entered the room and sat on the edge. They were chatting happily about their party. Although he didn't want to ruin their happy mood, Ven couldn't help but find this the perfect opportunity to find out what they were hiding.

"So, you enjoyed your surprise party?" He asked them. They both nodded with big smiles. Ven returned the smile, but sobered immediately after, causing the boys to drop their smiles and raise their eyebrows in question.

"Sora, Roxas..." He started. He didn't want to straight out ask what they were hiding. "Has... is there something wrong?" He asked slowly. He watched as Roxas expression turned to worry and Sora looked down so his hair covered most of his face. The room was dead silent. Roxas continuously looked between Sora and Ven with a contemplative expression.

Roxas wasn't sure what to do. He wanted to tell Venny so badly, but Sora kept saying no. Sora hadn't had any nightmares since the first time, but what if he had another one? There was no way they could continue to hide it again, and maybe Venny could help next time?

"Sora ha-"

"Nothing's wrong." Sora interrupted. Roxas looked at him with determination.

_'Sora, we should tell him! He could help...' _Roxas argued.

_'No, I don't want to tell anyone!' _Sora countered. Roxas continued to look at Sora, but Sora didn't even lift his head to meet his eyes. Roxas sighed softly and turned his head away from both of his brothers. Ven watched the scene with understanding. They were hiding something and Roxas wanted to tell. But Sora didn't. He looked at both of them for a few more minutes waiting to see if he would get a reply before sighing heavily as he closed his eyes. He opened them and brought his hands up to ruffle Sora and Roxas's hair playfully with a smirk. He didn't stop until Sora started to try and pull his hands off.

"Good night." He said as he stood up.

"Good night." They answered. Ven pulled the cover over them a bit before he left the room and shut the door behind him.

He made his way slowly down the hallway and plopped onto the couch with an explosive sigh. His mother lifted her gaze from a book to give him a confused glace from the armchair she was sitting. Hearing his sigh, Terra and Aqua walked into the living room from the kitchen and stood by the door frame to find out what was happening.

"What happened?" His mother asked. Ven was quiet for a moment before he turned his head to look at her.

"They are definitely hiding something." He answered. His mother's eyes widened before she closed them along with the book she was reading.

"Roxas was about to tell me what was going on, but Sora interrupted him. I'm sure if I could get Roxas alone, he would tell me." Ven continued, hoping his mother would cheer up a little. She opened her eyes and stared at the cover of the book she had. After a couple of minutes, she leaned further into the chair with a thoughtful expression.

"What is it?" Ven asked as Aqua came to sit by Ven on the couch. He could tell she was thinking about something.

"Well... I just remembered that I read them a storybook a couple of weeks ago. And that's around when their behavior started to change." She said thoughtfully. "I could just be grasping at straws, but besides Kairi and Naminé moving here, nothing in their routine has changed." She stated.

"Mom, what exactly happened? You haven't really told me anything but 'They're acting strange.' I can see the strangeness, but has something else happened?" Ven asked. She chewed on her lip before she answered quietly.

"The day your letter got here, I asked Sora to clean his room, you know, make the house presentable since you were coming home. He tried to trick me again by stuffing everything into his closet. I came up to spank him and he looked like he had seen a ghost ready to stab him with a knife. He covered his eyes and was shaking and everything." Her voice cracked a bit at the end. She took a breath before she continued.

"I was about to touch him, but Roxas jumped in-between us before I could get too close. He turned around and was trying to talk to Sora, but he wouldn't say anything. But after a moment Sora just dropped his hands. I asked what was wrong and he said 'nothing'. Roxas said he just wasn't feeling well." She started to rub the bridge of her nose. "Normally, they would tell me these things at breakfast or something right away, but they didn't say a word. They were silent at breakfast..." She finished. The room was enveloped in silence.

Now Ven could clearly see his mothers worry and understood why. They may be only five years old and some things about them may change, but that was completely out of character for both of them. The change happened too fast. Sora and Roxas usually told their mother everything. And on the very rare occasion they didn't tell her, they surely told him without hesitation. Yet, they were keeping everything a secret from them. It was confusing.

"What was the storybook about?" Aqua asked suddenly. Everyone turned to her. She shifted slightly before continuing. "Well, you said you think it could have something to do with the storybook, right? Tell us what it's about and maybe we could help figure it out." Aqua said with a smile. Ven's mother returned the smile before she retold what she remembered.

She told them of the strange pictures that were on pitch black pages. She told them of the people fighting over the light and the destruction of the world because of the darkness, only to be rebuilt by children.

"I really don't think they knew what it was talking about. It was so cryptic. I doubt even I knew exactly what it was talking about." She added.

"Where did they get the book?" Ven asked. Their mother just looked at him blankly before scrunching up her brow. "Actually, I don't think I ever asked them. They just brought it home asking if I would read it to them before they go to bed. I haven't even seen it around the house since then." She answered. Ven hummed in thought before turning to Aqua. She had a serious thoughtful expression on her face. She lifted her gaze to Terra who also had the same expression to Ven's surprise.

"Do you guys know something?" He asked. Aqua kept her gaze locked with Terra before she turned back to Ven.

"It's really similar to a brief history section you learn before the Master Qualification exam." She answered.

"You won't learn it till near the end of your training." Terra said, "It's called the Keyblade War. The story reminded me of it a lot." He finished. Aqua nodded in agreement.

"That's kinda weird... but they don't know anything about the Keyblades and even I don't know about the Keyblade War so I highly doubt they would." Ven said. The room fell silent again; no one could come up with a solution to the change in Sora and Roxas.

"Maybe we can come up with something better if we get some rest. It's been a pretty long, exciting day." Aqua suggested. Ven's mother nodded and stood up from the chair as Aqua stood up from the couch.

"I think I'll stay up a little longer." Terra answered as he came to replace Aqua on the couch.

"Me too." Ven added. His mother smiled at him before she walked out of the living room and walked down the hall with Aqua. Ven waited till he heard her door shut before he spoke.

"Terra, can you tell me about the Keyblade War?" He asked.

* * *

Sora wouldn't talk to him. He guessed it was because he was about to tell Ven their secret. Roxas apologized many times, but the only reaction he got was a nod. Sora wouldn't meet his eyes, but he a least faced his direction while they were lying in his bed.

"Roxas." Sora whispered.

"Yeah?" He asked relieved. Maybe Sora wasn't too mad at him.

"I... think we aren't supposed to tell people about the dreams." Sora answered. Sora finally brought his head up to meet Roxas's eyes. They just looked at each other silently before Roxas answered.

"That's what I felt when mommy asked, but I didn't feel that way about Venny." He replied. Sora paused for a moment before nodding his head in agreement and closed his eyes.

Roxas had made sure that Sora had fallen asleep before him again. He didn't want Sora to feel alone if he were to fall asleep first.

* * *

_Roxas slowly opened his eyes and looked dazedly at the blue heart shaped moon in the blueish gray sky. It was strangely perfect and very intimidating. He felt so pressured by its presence, yet slightly warmed by it. In sudden realization, he shot up in a sitting position and looked around him. People in armor were fighting with key-shaped blades. Just like in the nightmare Sora told him about. But in this one, many people were already littered across the ground covered in blood._

_Roxas backpedaled in confusion and fear with wide eyes. _**_'Why am I here?' _**_He questioned. He yelped in surprise when he hit something behind him. He whipped his head around expecting to see and armored figure, but met with Sora's still form. He had his knees tucked into his chest with his face hidden again. _

"**_Sora!"_** _Roxas yelled. He was surprised he had a voice; Sora said he couldn't talk in his nightmare. Roxas turned completely around to face his brother and grabbed his shoulders. _**_"Sora!"_** _He repeated. Roxas shook him a little, but got no response, not even a flinch. Roxas began to panic before he remembered their ability. _**_'Sora!' _**_he said, through telepathy this time._

_At first, Sora didn't respond at all, but he slowly lifted his head and met Roxas' eyes. Roxas gaped in shock. Sora's eyes were dull and blank, like he wasn't awake. He didn't show any expression on his features. _**_'Sora?! Are you okay?!'_**_ Roxas asked. Sora just continued to stare at him with vacant eyes. Roxas waved his hands in front of his face and snapped his fingers a couple of times, but Sora didn't even blink._

**_'Sora?! Please answer me!'_**_ Roxas begged. Tears were beginning to sting his eyes. Roxas was startled when Sora suddenly blinked and slightly moved his head to look past him. Roxas turned around slowly to see an armored figure approaching them. Roxas gasped before he wrapped his arms protectively around Sora and glared at the figure coming towards them._

"**_Unlock it."_** _The figure commanded as it came closer. Roxas eyes widened and he held Sora tighter. Sora didn't say that the figures talked. _**_"Open it!"_** _It commanded again. It started to walk faster towards them and Roxas watched with barely contained fear. The figure slowed when it was a couple of feet away from them. It slowly lifted its arm to touch them. _**_"Give me power."_** _It said icily._

_Roxas stifled a gasp and pulled Sora closer to him. Sora hadn't moved or talked at all. His eyes were still vacant and his expression eerily blank as he watched the figure approaching them. Roxas looked down at him before looking back up at the figure who was inching towards them._

**"****_Go away!"_** _Roxas yelled shakily. The figure continued to move towards them as if he didn't hear him. _**_"Leave us alone!"_** _He yelled again. The figure closed in on them and grabbed Roxas arm and tried to yank him away. _**_"No! Stop!" _**_Roxas cried struggling to free his arm._

**"****_Unlock it!"_** _The figure shouted. Suddenly, a dark sphere shot into its side, a burst of crimson spraying in the direction it came. The armored figure screamed in pain as it was thrown off of Roxas and rolled several feet away. Its helmet was broken in pieces so its face was visible. He stared at Roxas with dead eyes as blood poured from his lips and__ tears of blood slid down his visibly pale cheeks._

_Roxas was silent as he pulled Sora even closer to him. He couldn't take his eyes away from the dead man that just tried to take him from Sora. Another figure approached the dead man. Dressed in similar armor, it stopped and raised its key- shaped blade. It began to gouge the man's back. Roxas could only watch in uncontainable fear as he heard it laughing._

_By the time the armored figure was finished, the dead man was unrecognizable. Tears had already completely covered Roxas face, but Sora was still as blank as a piece of unused paper. The figure turned to them and slowly walked forward._

_Roxas watched in horror and couldn't calm his shaking. His eyes followed him as he came closer. It began to reach out to them and Roxas couldn't take it anymore. Roxas grabbed Sora tightly before releasing a bloodcurdling scream.  


* * *

_"What do you want to know?" Terra asked teasingly. Ven scowled at him.

"Terra, this isn't a laughing matter. Just tell me what you know." Ven replied. Terra sighed softly and leaned into the couch.

"Like Aqua said. The Keyblade War is brief, or rather, no one really knows what happened." He said. He looked at Ven who had a confused expression plastered onto his face. "No one knows what they were even fighting for, or when it started, or even how long it lasted." He continued.

"We do know that the warriors of light and darkness were fighting against each other and themselves. There weren't really any sides. No friends, just enemies. The war caused the world to be devoured and destroyed by darkness. We aren't sure what happened to make the worlds what they are today. Many and separated." He finished. Ven nodded. Terra was about to continue on, but was interrupted by a deafening scream.

Ven shot up from the couch and ran full speed to Sora and Roxas room, Terra not far behind. Ven burst into the room and found Roxas shielding over Sora, still screaming. Ven cautiously surveyed the room before quickly making it over to his screaming brother.

"Roxas?! What's wrong?!" He yelled over his screaming. Ven made to grab Roxas's arm, but Roxas yanked it back to hold Sora more tightly and scream louder. "Roxas?!" He yelled louder. He grabbed Roxas around his waist to pull him off of Sora, but he began to struggle violently.

"Let me go! Leave us alone!" He continued screaming. Terra came over to help Ven hold down his brother. They finally pulled him off, but he started to struggle harder.

"Roxas!" Ven yelled over his screams. Aqua and their mother had been watching from the doorway. Their mother could barely watch what was happening and was trying her best not to break down into her own screaming and crying. Seeing the mothers' distress, Aqua quietly led her away from the door.

"Roxas!" Ven yelled again, Roxas was starting to calm down a little, but he was still sobbing loudly. "Roxas, its Venny. Open you eyes." Ven said softly. Roxas shook his head negatively and continued to sob, but didn't struggle. Ven turned to Terra and silently signaled him to release him. Terra stepped back. He was a little stunned at all that was happening.

"Roxas." Ven said again, but Roxas just continued to shake his head frantically. Ven sat down on the bed and pulled Roxas into his lap. "Roxas, it's just me. It's okay." Ven repeated. Roxas slowly opened his eyes and his sobs turned into whimpering. He pushed his face into Ven's chest. Eventually, his whimpering turned into sniffling.

"Sora." Roxas whispered over and over. Ven lifted his gaze from Roxas to look at Sora. He simply sat there with his legs in his chest and his face hidden by his knees.

"Sora?" Ven called. He didn't respond. He scooted closer with Roxas still in his lap. "Sora?" He asked again. Roxas shifted in Ven's lap and pulled himself free so he could crawl over to Sora. He wrapped Sora in a protective embrace. The room became silent except for the occasional sniffle from Roxas.

Ven was about ask Roxas what happened, but stopped when Sora began to lift up his head. Everyone in the room, save for Roxas, gasped when they had a good look at his face. Everything about him was blank. His eyes were vacant and dull, and his face held no expression, just eerily blank. Not an expression one would have after everything that just occurred.

"Sora?!" Ven called again. He got off the bed to lean down to his eye level. "Hey, Sora?" He said softer this time. Sora didn't even acknowledge his presence. He snapped his fingers a couple of times, but he didn't flinch or blink.

"He won't talk." Roxas said softly. Ven looked back up to Roxas who was quietly crying. Ven stood up and picked up Roxas. Ven shifted him so he was riding his back and then picked up Sora, who didn't move in response at all.

Ven walked with them into the living room and sat on the couch with Sora and Roxas in his lap. Roxas was starting to cry a little louder and Ven just wrapped them tightly in a hug and rocked soothingly. About ten minutes later, both of them were asleep again. Their mother walked into the room with some blankets and gently spread them over them.

"What happened?" She asked; her voice soft. Her eyes were slightly puffy and red. She would have thought seeing a monster about to attack her would be the scariest thing she could ever witness if possible, but she knew just seeing her children so scared was the most horrible thing she would ever witness.

"I'm not sure." Ven answered. "I think it was a nightmare... but..." He really didn't know what to say. Even if it were a nightmare, Roxas never reacted that way. And that didn't explain Sora's condition. Ven sighed quietly in exhaustion; he was barely able to keep his eyes open.

"Ven, I think you need some rest." Aqua said. She could tell that he would pass out any moment. "We'll figure it all out tomorrow. You're not going to get any answers seeing as they're sleeping." He nodded and let his head fall to into the cushion of the couch. Their mother came up to him and kissed him on the cheek before gently patting the boys on their heads. She pulled the cover up a bit to cover Ven a little more and stepped back with a small, sad smile. She was reluctantly led back to her room by Terra and Aqua, who were also going to their rooms.

Ven sat silently in the living room on the couch with his brothers on his lap. He was still for a moment before he lifted his head back upright and gently maneuvered Sora so he could reach into his pocket. He carefully retrieved two necklaces. One had a crown pendent on a metal chain and the other a strange shaped X. He carefully placed the crown one on Sora and the X on Roxas.

Although he had given them a co-present earlier, this was their real birthday present from him personally. He intended to put it on them while they were sleeping and though this technically counted as sleeping, it wasn't what he wanted. They were supposed to wake up surprised to have necklace versions of the insignia's he personally chose for them since they were babies. But, he doubted they would wake up excited like he planned.

"Happy Birthday." He whispered. He sighed and leaned his head back into the couch. Eventually, he too drifted off into slumber.

* * *

Oh ho ho. The end of this chapter is near here. Just look above this~!

_Since DVD's can't be Rewinded, Please just return it to the case_

So... what do you think eh? Too screamy? :/ Who knows. Hmmm, further info will be in the next chapter!

Also, about the dreams, Sora and Roxas have them regularly. Usually, they are pretty mellow and vague. So far, Sora has now experienced 2 bad ones and this is Roxas's first time seeing everything so clearly himself, not through Sora's telepathy thing. Sora didn't drag Roxas there in case you were thinking that, he has his own strange dreams now. They both got stuck in this one. ^_^

As an extra note, the reason I haven't given the parents names is because... well... it would almost be like creating an OC and I'm not quite ready to do that yet. I mean, I guess it wouldn't hurt, but I don't want to throw random names in there for people who don't show up too often... I dunno! DX  
Besides, I leave their appearances and names up to your imagination! :D (Sad excuse)


	9. The Keyblade and Preschool

_A/N: _Hiya everybody! It's been a long week huh? *clears throat* Well, I present to you, chapter 9!!!

(P.S. Please vote on the poll on my page :D I really don't have a problem writing them, but would you rather me write out complete scenes that are exactly like BBS scenes, or kinda summarize them? Your choice! I would rather summarize them.)

Thanks for the help AngelOfLostLight(beta!) and CrimsonDarkness 0013(plot assistant!)!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too....

* * *

**The Keyblade and Preschool**

Ven was confused. Scratch that, he was downright frustrated. Ven sighed heavily as he turned on his back on his bed.

A week had passed since Roxas and Sora had the nightmare. For the first couple days after the incident, Sora was like a living doll. If you left him on the couch for a day, he would have sat there as if he were soulless. His eyes were dull and he didn't respond to anyone.

The only one who could get anything out of him was Roxas. Though Sora never opened his mouth to reply to anything, Roxas always knew his answer. It was almost like he could read his mind. But telepathy didn't exist. Or he thought it didn't. He sighed again and flipped over to his stomach.

Terra and Aqua had been called back for an emergency the day after the nightmare. They really didn't want to leave, but the message was extremely urgent. Ven luckily was able to reject the assignment because he was too young. He never thought he would be so happy to be too young to do something. He didn't want to leave his brothers the way they were.

Eventually, Sora had come out of his daze, but he was extremely quiet and shy. Roxas had also calmed down from near hysteria, but stayed even closer to Sora than he did recently. They never left each other sides, not even for a moment. If they got to far away from each other, one would quickly get closer to the other. He joked that they could almost be conjoined twins, but their mother didn't find it funny at all. In fact, she thought it was horrible and grounded him, even though he didn't technically live there anymore. No video games till he left.

And again, as if to prove telepathy existed, Roxas answered everything for Sora. His mother told him that older siblings often speak up for the younger one to make decisions they wanted them to choose. But Ven could tell there was something more going on there, it wasn't that simple. He groaned and pulled down his chin so he could stuff his face into the pillow.

_'Just another question to add to the list.'_ He groaned mentally.

* * *

"So, you guys think you're up to showing me your secret clubhouse?" Ven questioned. They hadn't done much of anything for the past week. They would start kindergarten tomorrow and he didn't want them in school if they were going to be like this. In fact, he didn't want them to go at all right now, but their mother insisted it would do them good. He didn't see any 'good' coming from making five year olds go to school, but assumed it was her motherly instincts that told her so. He supposed they would probably be okay since Sora was more open, but he still wasn't talking and Roxas was practically attached to him.

He watched them as they turned to each other and fell silent. It was like they were having their own conversation, with no spoken words. Roxas smiled brightly and turned back to face Ven.

"Yeah! We can show it to you." He agreed. Ven smiled and turned to Sora who had a small smile plastered on his face. When Sora noticed his eyes on him, he quickly put his head down to where his hair covered most of his face. Worried, Ven bent down to their level. He was about to ask what was wrong, but smirked when he noticed Sora was blushing.

_'It's so weird seeing him shy.'_ Ven thought absently. If he didn't know what happened prior to his behavior, he would have thought Sora had been replaced by an alien.

"And you want to go too right?" Ven asked. Sora paused before nodding softly. Ven chuckled and ruffled their hair. They didn't seem to mind the interaction now.

**

* * *

**

"Now listen, Venny, you can't come in." Roxas stated. Sora nodded in agreement. Puzzled, Ven raised an eyebrow. They were all standing on the dock on Play Island. As soon as Ven stepped off the boat, ready to follow them, they say that he can't go into the clubhouse they wanted to show him, much to his confusion.

"You have to know the secret handshake." Sora said quietly. Ven smiled and resisted the urge to hug his brother tightly.

_'He finally spoke!'_ Ven exclaimed internally. He squatted to their eye level and smiled. "Okay, so what's this handshake?" Roxas crossed his arms smugly.

"It's not a handshake." He replied. Ven narrowed his eyes at his brothers. They were definitely messing with him.

"Not a handshake?" He asked. Sora nodded.

"We call it a handshake, but it's just a noise." Roxas explained. Ven was officially lost.

"All you have to do is make a noise for the number of letters in your name. Like I stomp five times with my left foot and Sora stomps four times with his right foot." After he finished talking they demonstrated.

"Kairi snaps her fingers and Naminé claps her hands. Riku doesn't have one yet." Sora finished. Ven was thoroughly surprised at how complicated it was, but knew neither of his brothers thought it up. If he had to guess, he assumed it was either Kairi or Naminé. Ven pondered on what his noise would be.

"Okay, I know what I'm going to do." He answered.

"What is it?" Roxas asked curiously. Ven clicked his teeth and waved a finger in their faces.

"You'll find out when we get there." He replied as he stood up. They adopted pouting faces and walked on with Ven following them.

Any doubt that Ven had about their secret clubhouse in a cave was stomped out. In front of him was an actual cave. He played here all the time when he was young and never came across a cave. Sora and Roxas said it was covered by vines, but it was still a mystery how it could have stayed hidden so long.

He turned his attention to the boys when they began to demonstrate their secret handshake. When they finished, they quickly turned around to watch Ven in anticipation. Ven smiled before he brought his hand up to his mouth, much to their confusion. He waited a moment before taking a deep breath and made six slow and long farting noises. After the first three, the boys were already laughing loudly clutching their stomachs. He finished and also let out some laughter.

"So, does that count as a secret handshake?" Ven asked with a smile.

"Yeah! That was cool!" They answered. They continued their rant for a couple of minutes before Ven interrupted them.

"So, can I see your secret cave now?" Sora and Roxas turned to each other and then nodded happily to their brother. He would have been there forever if he let them continue their conversation.

* * *

Sora and Roxas showed Ven every drawing they composed throughout the cave. Roxas made sure to point out the picture Roxas named 'Kairi Monkey' that Sora drew. Instead of having an outburst, Sora simply blushed and adopted a pout. It wasn't exactly what Ven was hoping to happen, but it was something. Sora was finally coming out of his shell.

"Hey, this wasn't here before." Sora said. Ven turned away from one of the many drawings to look at a strange wooden door on the back side of the cave. He didn't even notice it before. On the wooden door was a keyhole. Just looking at it gave him a strange feeling he couldn't explain.

"When did it get here? Before, it was just a door. There wasn't a keyhole…" Roxas trailed off. Ven stood up and walked to the door. He examined it critically. Not only was there a cave that was hidden to the world till now, there was also a strange hidden door. He pressed his ear against the door and knocked on it a couple of times, but it sounded as if it were pressed hard against the rock. There wasn't the hollow echo you would hear if there was a room behind it. Ven took his face from the door's surface and grabbed the edge and pulled. It didn't budge an inch.

"We tried to yank it open when Riku was here, but it didn't open." Roxas explained. Ven turned his head to look at them before stepping away from the door.

"Well guys, I think it's about time to eat dinner and go to bed." Ven replied. He really wanted to leave the cave. Everything about it was too strange for comfort. They both puffed out their cheeks and narrowed their eyes. Ven raised his brow.

"I don't want to go home yet. I like it here." Roxas answered. Sora turned his head away from Ven to look at the keyhole again. While Roxas was spouting reasons why they shouldn't go home yet, Sora simply stared at it in fascination. Although it wasn't here the last time they came, Sora knew it was there the whole time. He just had that feeling again, like the time he knew Venny was coming home. He was shaken from his gaze when Ven took his hand and lead him and Roxas out of the cave.

As they were leaving the cave he looked back one last time to see it slowly fading away.

**

* * *

**

"So, are you guys ready for kindergarten?" Ven asked to strike up conversation. He laughed internally when both of them groaned. They were on the main island walking home at a slow pace. In each hand, Ven held their hands. He was surprised Roxas and Sora weren't trying to yank away from him so they could walk next to each other without Ven standing in between them.

"I don't wanna go to kindergarten. Riku says it's boring. And that the uniforms give you wedgies." Sora argued.

"He says all you do is sit there and listen to some lady talk. And then you have to play with boring old toys and read books." Roxas continued. Ven sighed and looked up to the sky.

"Do you guys believe everything he says? He could be lying." Ven supplied. They shook there head vigorously.

"Riku knows almost everything, like his dad." They explained. Ven allowed a small smile to cross his face as he watched a cloud slowly move by. He wondered when they would figure out anything that man said was utter crap. He didn't blame them too much. He didn't find out till he was almost eleven. Some of the things he said were just too believable.

"You won't know till you go yourselves. I think you guys will really like it." He suggested. They both let out depressed huffs, but didn't speak anymore on it.

Ven looked down at Sora, who was focused on the road ahead. Sora wasn't at one hundred percent yet, but he was well on his way. Ven was just happy he was at least speaking now. He also found it the perfect time to find out what exactly happened that night.

Roxas had blatantly refused to tell them anything about the incident until Sora 'talked' again. Ven tried everything he knew to pry it out of him, but he was surprisingly stubborn. Sora was not only talking, but on the fast track to becoming normal again. He didn't want to risk his progression, but he couldn't let the situation go. He knew what they were hiding was big. He didn't know how big, but for it to affect them so much, it had to be something important.

**

* * *

**

Ven helped Sora and Roxas get dressed in their pajamas. He took their hands again and led them to the living room, much to their confusion. He sat them on the couch and pulled up the arm chair their mother always sat in. Sora and Roxas nervously fidgeted until Ven finished pulling the chair and sat down with a sigh.

They all sat still for a couple of moments before Ven leaned forward in the chair and looked them both in the eyes. He didn't want to take it too fast or it might backfire like last time.

"Mom has been really worried about you two." He began. Roxas expression turned solemn and Sora shifted his eyes to his feet. Ven was quiet for a moment before continuing. "I know for whatever reason, you don't want to tell her what's wrong, but can you tell me? She's worried, I'm worried, Terra and Aqua are worried, everyone is worried about you." He explained. "We just want to know what's happening so we can help." Roxas turned his head to look at Sora, who was still looking at his feet. The room turned silent.

Suddenly, Sora sucked in some air and released it loudly before slightly nodding his head. Roxas quickly turned around to face Ven with a determined expression.

"It all started with Sora's first nightmare." Roxas started. Ven shifted so he was closer. Roxas hesitated before continuing. "He told me that he was in a field with a whole bunch of people fighting each other with swords that were shaped like keys." Ven stiffened.

_'Are they talking about the Keyblade? They shouldn't even know about the Keyblade! None of us used one while we were here and I never told them exactly what training I was doing...'_ Ven thought confusedly. He turned his attention back to Roxas when he began talking again.

"And he said there was a big heart moon in the sky." He continued as he took a quick glance toward the ceiling as if it was right above them. "And every once in a while, some of the people fighting would try to get close to Sora... but someone always knocked them back... or killed them." He finished. The room was once again enveloped in silence. Roxas looked at Sora once more before he continued.

"The second time... we both had the nightmare." Roxas said quietly. He didn't say more so Ven assumed he was finished.

"What do you mean you both had it? You had the same dream Sora had before?" He questioned. What had they been doing to have a nightmare? Let alone the same one? Roxas shrugged before answering.

"We went to sleep, and then I woke up in the same place Sora was in. I tried to get Sora to talk to me, but he just stared at me."

"I was scared. I was by myself again before you came." Sora replied quietly. It was then Ven understood the whole situation. They didn't just have the same dream; they were IN the same dream.

And both were acting like it was normal. Ven opened his mouth to talk, but couldn't think of anything to say. Nothing made sense. How can two people be IN the SAME dream? That wasn't something you can chalk up to just being twins.

"... Are you sure you were in the same dream? You're not making this up are you?" He asked skeptically. Sora's head shot up and he, along with Roxas, glared at their older brother.

"We aren't lying!" They shouted. Ven put his hands up in defense.

"I didn't say you were lying, I just want to be sure. That's all." He said soothingly. They huffed, but continued to glare at him. It was quiet for a moment.

_'I feel better now.'_ Sora said mentally, knowing Roxas would get the message. He felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He didn't really like keeping secrets that much. He sighed in relief.

_'I don't think he believes us.'_ Roxas said sadly. He sighed in annoyance.

"Yeah."

"Yeah what?" Ven asked.

"Huh?" Sora said quizzically. Roxas slapped a hand to his forehead.

"You said it out loud again stupid."

"Oh, sorry." He replied as he rubbed the back of his head in shame. "I forgot again." Ven watched the scene in extreme interest.

"How could you forget again?!" Roxas said, whipping his head around to face Sora. "I never forget, but you always say stuff out loud!" He argued.

"That's because you're better at it than me!" Sora countered.

"I guess being older makes me better than you anyway." Roxas reasoned. Sora stood up on the couch, ready to pounce on Roxas, but was quickly pulled back down to the couch by a still slightly serious Ven.

"What are you guys talking about?" He questioned. Roxas shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm better at telepathy than Sora." He said. Ven's eyes widened comically in shock. Roxas crossed his arms and smiled smugly. "Like, when we first did it, I couldn't even hear Sora, but I could talk in his head loud and clear." He gloated. Sora simply sat on the couch fuming. He couldn't get up because Ven still had a firm hand on his shoulder. He resorted to glaring.

"... Telepathy...?" Ven whispered. Sora and Roxas turned to him before nodding their heads positively. "... You guys aren't kidding are you?" Ven asked rhetorically.

"No." Sora replied as he shook his head negatively. Ven looked between them a couple of times before releasing an explosive sigh and leaning back into the armchair. He closed his eyes in concentration as he reviewed all the newly revealed events and, apparently, abilities.

He cracked open an eye when he felt the boys climbing onto the armchair with him. He smiled and pulled them into a tight hug. They tried to hug back just as tightly, but couldn't get their arms all the way around him. He laughed at their attempts and let them go.

"You two never told me if you liked you presents or not." He said when he caught a glimpse of the crown and cross around their necks. They looked at him in question before he pointed to the necklaces. Their eyes widened slightly and grins began to spread over their faces.

"You gave these to us?" They asked in unison. He nodded as they continued to fiddle with them. They still didn't answer his question, but he supposed since they were ogling them, they liked them. As they played with the necklaces, he closed his eyes again. All he could really think about was the 'key-shaped swords' Roxas said they dreamed people fighting with. He didn't know how something like that could possibly appear in their dream. If they knew what the Keyblade was, they would have called it a Keyblade, not a 'key-shaped sword'. How can you dream of something you didn't know existed?

He was sure the scariest part of the dream was when the people were killing each other with the possible Keyblades. That wasn't something a five year old easily gets over, as they demonstrated. Sora and Roxas most likely would be afraid if they ever saw one in real life, but he didn't want them to think Keyblade wielders were just murderers.

"Sora, Roxas." He said drawing their attention. He sat up straighter and sat them both back onto the couch from his lap. "You said the people in your dream were fighting with 'key-shaped blades'?" He questioned. They nodded hesitantly. "What if those 'key-shaped blades' were real?" He asked slowly. Sora gulped audibly and Roxas licked his lips.

"...They're real?" They asked quietly. Ven paused before he nodded slowly. Sora sucked in air and Roxas stared at Ven in fright.

"Listen okay?" He said. "I'm not sure why the people in your dream were fighting and... killing each other with them, but most don't use Keyblades for that." He said quickly.

"K-keyblades?" Roxas said shakily. Ven nodded again.

"Not all people with Keyblades are bad." Ven answered.

"How do you know? Do you know someone with one?" Sora asked softly. Ven smiled.

"Yes, I know a few people who have them. They are really nice and wouldn't hurt someone like that." He explained. "In fact, you already know two of them."

"W-we do?" Sora bristled. Ven smiled wider before replying.

"Yup. Terra and Aqua both have Keyblades." Ven replied. Sora and Roxas gasped in surprise before Roxas suddenly put all the pieces together.

"Y-you have one too!" He exclaimed. Roxas and Sora gaped in new understanding. Ven laughed at their expressions.

"Yes I do. I'm not a bad person, right?" He asked. The room was quiet before Roxas asked a question he and Sora were too nervous to ask.

"Can w-we see it?" Roxas asked quietly. Ven kept a steady gaze on them. He wasn't sure how they would really react with seeing it. Talking about it didn't seem to be a problem, but seeing it might be a different story.

"Okay." He said finally. "But I want you two to know, I would never hurt you. Don't ever doubt that, okay?" He brought forward his hand and paused. He looked at them sternly one last time before he summoned his Keyblade in a flurry of light. Roxas and Sora jumped a bit, but otherwise stayed in place stiffly.

They stared at Ven's Keyblade in awe. It was unique just like all the other Keyblades they had in their dream. Except, this Keyblade wasn't stained in blood. Roxas gulped before asking another question.

"...Can I hold it?" He asked after a pause.

"I don't know if you can." Ven answered. "There are only certain types of people who can hold Keyblades, but you can try."

"I want to try." Roxas said with a nod. Ven slowly reached over and let Roxas grab the handle.

"It might disappear when I let go, so don't get scared okay?" Ven assured. He let go of the Keyblade, expecting it to return to his hand, but it stayed with Roxas. Ven smirked. He would have been surprised if this had happened at another time, but he already had too many surprises to be shocked by anything else for the day. His brother could wield a Keyblade. He bet that Sora could too.

"It's kinda heavy..." Roxas commented. He poked at it for a minute before he turned to Sora, who looked to currently be in shock. His mouth hung open and he stared at the Keyblade with mostly awe, but there was fear mixed in.

_'Sora, it's okay. It isn't going to hurt you.'_ Roxas explained internally. Sora tore his gaze from the Keyblade to look into his twins blue eyes. Their gazes locked. _'Do you want to hold it?'_ Roxas asked. Sora looked back down to the Keyblade before he reached out and took it from Roxas. Again, it didn't disappear.

"It's kinda cool." Sora whispered.

* * *

Ven purposely woke up early so he could wake up the twins for their first day of school. He did want to help them get ready, but he also wanted to try and wake up Sora. He hadn't gotten the opportunity to try since he got there. He never succeeded in the past, but he hoped this time would be different.

He quietly crept into their bedroom and approached their bed. He squatted on his knees next to the bedside and gently shook Roxas until he opened his eyes. Roxas looked at him sleepily before sitting as he rubbed his eyes.

"You guys have school today, remember?" Ven asked quietly. Roxas nodded slowly and yawned. Ven stood back up and softly crawled over the bed and sat down next to Sora, who was still fast asleep.

"You won't be able to wake him up. Only I can wake him up." Roxas said with a sleepy grin. Ven looked up at him and smiled.

"Then, how about we make a bet? The one who can wake him up gets a bag of candy." Ven replied. He knew he probably wouldn't wake up Sora anyway; it was just something to bribe Roxas with in case he decided he didn't want to wake him up for school. Roxas smiled brightly and agreed.

With the deal set, Ven looked back down to Sora. He grabbed his shoulders and shook him lightly while calling his name. As expected, it didn't work. He then slapped his face a couple of times. Not too hard, but hard enough to sting a bit. Sora only mumbled something barely audible and turned of his side. Roxas started laughing and quietly signaled Ven to sit back as he crawled to Sora's other side.

Roxas sucked in some air before shouting loudly, "OH MY GOSH SORA! THE BOOGIEMAN CAME FROM OUT OF THE CLOSET AND IT'S EATING OUR FAVORITE CEREAL AND MOMMY!" Ven was sure the whole neighborhood heard him yelling. He wondered if they were used to the daily occurrence.

Sora suddenly bolted up in the bed. "He can't eat my cereal!" He complained. Ven realized Sora's Captain Crunch was apparently more important than his own mother. Sora got up from the bed in a rush and quickly left the room.

Roxas would have been mad about the lack off pain since the room no longer had hazardous sharp objects all over the floor, but changed his mind when he heard Sora trip and fall halfway to the kitchen. He laughed loudly and Ven chuckled. The house was quiet for a moment before they heard Sora stomping back down the hall, no doubt hearing their laughter.

He walked into the room glaring at them with already narrowed eyes. He tried to keep up his glaring, but a smile had already begun spreading across his face. To hide it, he suddenly yelled in fake frustration and launched himself onto the bed. He attempted to tackle Roxas, but Ven kept them separated.

"Alright, alright. Now that you're both awake, you need to get dressed in your uniforms." He instructed. He got up from the bed with his back turned to them, causing him to miss the suspicious glance they gave each other. Ven calmly walked to their closet and pulled out two new kindergarten uniforms.

He eyed them with nostalgia. He didn't remember kindergarten much, but he remembered the uniforms. Riku wasn't exactly lying about the wedgies.

"You guys ready?" He asked as he turned around. When he didn't get an answer, he looked back up from the uniforms to find Sora and Roxas no where in sight. He slapped his free hand on his forehead. He must have been really out of it not to remember they loved playing 'hide and seek' when it was time for anything school related.

* * *

Sora was currently upset. Ven had eventually found them and forced them into their uniforms for school. He could already feel the wedgie coming. He huffed in frustration and let himself be dragged along by his older brother.

"You guys really made us almost late. Mom would kill me if you guys were late on your first day of school!" Ven complained. Roxas sighed and Sora rolled his eyes. Venny could be so over dramatic.

Ven looked down at his brothers, if they continued to walk at this pace they still wouldn't make it on time. He let go of their hands and started to jog ahead of them. They cocked their heads to the side in confusion.

"Last one to the school is a rotten egg!" He yelled over his shoulder. He heard them gasp before their feet began to stomp on sandy soil. In a matter of minutes, they passed him up and were well on their way to school on time. He smiled, but suddenly came to a stop when he caught a glimpse of a human shadow from the corner of his eye.

He looked at the side of the house critically. The morning sun cast a strange shadow that could easily be mistaken as human if you weren't paying attention. He looked at it for another moment before continuing his run after his brothers.

**

* * *

**

"Looks like he really is here, Master." Vanitas said from the side of the house. He was impressed that Ven had noticed him. He was able to move before Ven turned back to take a closer look. He watched from his position as Ven ran down the street after his brothers. "This will be fun."

* * *

_If you do not Rewind the tape, Please pay the Fine_

Hmmm, what can I explain... oh yeah! There is something I know will be confusing so I want to clear it up now. (Though I guess it isn't all that important really) Sora's current 'vacant eyes' aren't the same eyes that Kairi and Ven had for example. He's not that far gone, but he's pretty out there. Just imagine his eyes as droopy and not really looking at anything, he still has his pupils and such. I suppose they could be dull, but not 'hazy' or 'glassy eyed'. In my book, those are two different types of eyes, okay?

What else... oh! Vanny has arrived! (Yes, that's his nickname from me. Venny and Vanny! ^_^) Next chapter, things get interesting!


	10. Evil Rhymes With Potential

**_A/N: _ **Yay! 10 chapters! Wow, that was fast o_O.

So, firstly, special thanks thanks to Crimson for some (or most) of Vanny's lines! (Man, if he were real, he would kill me for calling him that.)

Secondly... unless you're like me, Angel, or maybe even Crimson that sorta likes seeing their favorite characters in distress, then you will especially hate me for this chapter... probably. XD

(P.S. Please vote on the poll on my page :D I really don't have a problem writing them, but would you rather me write out complete scenes that are exactly like BBS scenes, or kinda summarize them? Your choice! I would rather summarize them.)

Thanks for the help **AngelOfLostLight**(beta!) and **CrimsonDarkness 0013**(plot assistant!)!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too....

* * *

**Evil Rhymes with Potential**

"Ha! Two against one and you still can't beat me! See Venny, your brothers are useless." Riku taunted. Ven laughed as Roxas and Sora angrily charged at Riku with their wooden blades. Roxas swung one of his blades straight forward so Riku would block and attempted to strike his side with his other.

He was about to finally get a hit, but Sora suddenly appeared from nowhere and was hit in the head by his blade. Roxas was stunned and failed to notice Riku separated his blade from the block and swung it into Roxas stomach. Sora fell to the ground grasping his head in pain and Roxas was rolling on the sand covered beach trying to regain his breath.

Riku sighed and looked over his shoulder to see Kairi and Naminé making a big sand shell. He turned back around to see Roxas yelling at Sora in obvious anger.

"You're so stupid! I told you! We NEVER beat Riku because of you!"

"I said I was sorry! I didn't see you swinging! I just saw the perfect chance to get Riku in his side!" Sora argued back. Roxas was already too upset to hear any of Sora's excuses. Because of him, they were beaten by Riku in front of their brother.

Roxas slowly stood up from the ground and walked over to his brother, who was still sitting on the sand. Sora looked up when he saw a looming shadow over him and began to scuttle backwards from the obviously very angry Roxas.

Roxas suddenly ran forward with a loud battle cry and Sora shielded his face and yelped just as loudly. Before Roxas was able to tackle Sora, Ven grabbed Roxas by the back of his shirt and lifted him up. Roxas kicked and struggled, but to no avail.

"Roxas, I know you're mad at Sora, but calm down, okay." Roxas humphed as he was set back on his feet. "And Sora, you should always look before you run head first into a battle." Ven instructed. Sora nodded reluctantly as Ven helped him to his feet. As if they were magnets, Roxas and Sora immediately migrated so that they were side by side. Ven smirked at the display.

Every couple of seconds, Roxas would send Sora a distinct glare, which was immediately followed by a flinch from Sora. Roxas was most likely still insulting Sora telepathically. There wasn't anything Ven could really do to stop him, so he frowned.

Like his mother said, making them go to school did do them some good. Sora, thankfully, was back to normal for the most part. They also seemed happier than usual. But, they were still like Siamese twins. Magnets that never walked, ate, or even slept too far apart. They also apparently had more conversations on the inside than the outside.

"Hey Venny, could you spar with me instead? I want to see how strong I am." Riku asked as he walked over to him. Ven looked thoughtful before nodding his head in agreement.

"Sure, why not. You seem to have gotten better since I've been gone." Ven praised as he picked up on of the wooden swords littered on the beach. "I warn you though: I'm way stronger than before." Riku smiled, then shrugged immediately after.

"Good, then don't hold back!" He shouted getting into fighting stance.

* * *

"That was so cool how you beat Riku like that!" Sora cheered.

"We finally got pay back!" Roxas added.

"You guys didn't get any payback! Your big brother fought him, not you." Kairi corrected. Naminé's head bobbed in agreement. Sora and Roxas were about to argue, but Ven slapped his hands over their mouths.

"Kairi is right. I beat him. Not you." Ven said with slight amusement. They gave their brother a half glare before trying to forcefully pull his hands off their mouths. Just to annoy them further, he grabbed their faces, making them unable to pull it away.

They struggled for a good minute before they both suddenly stopped. Ven suddenly felt a wet sensation on his palm. He quickly pulled away his hands to find they had been licking them.

"You guys, that is really gross!" Ven complained as he wiped their spit onto his pants. They both released fake girl giggles before running ahead laughing loudly. Ven sighed as he watched them run before turning to Kairi and Naminé. Both looked disgusted.

"Do you want to be walked home?" He asked the girls. They immediately shook their heads.

"We're five now! We can walk home by ourselves." Kairi said as she smiled brightly. Ven smiled back and waved as they walked toward the opposite direction.

He jogged a bit to catch up to his brothers, who were currently talking about their brilliant escape by licking his hand. They apparently didn't hear him coming from behind and continued talking about how amazing they were. So, he used it to his advantage.

Ven had already thought up the perfect plan to get revenge on them. He skillfully wet both his index fingers with a grin. He slowly positioned his fingers right by their ears. He waited a few seconds before jamming his wet fingers into their ears causing them to scream in disgust. Roxas and Sora pulled away from his fingers and turned around to face him.

"Mommy said not to do that anymore!" They shouted. They tried to clean the spit from their ears, causing Ven to laugh loudly.

"She also said not to lick people, didn't she?" Ven countered. Roxas and Sora growled at him and readied themselves to tackle him. Ven only smirked at their antics. They were just about to jump, but Ven was suddenly tackled from behind. He caught his balance and looked down to see Kairi and Naminé had each of his legs in a death grip.

"Uh.... what are you guys doing?" He asked the girls curiously. Kairi looked up at him with a desperate expression. Naminé kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut and her face against his leg.

"There are monsters chasing us!" She yelled. She gripped his leg tighter and looked in the direction she had come running from.

"Monster?" Ven asked skeptically as he too looked in the direction they had come running from. To his horror, there was an Unversed running down the street, no doubt the monster Kairi spoke of. Ven quickly unlatch the girls from his legs and moved them behind him together with Sora and Roxas.

The unversed was quickly approaching them. He summoned his Keyblade in haste and struck the unversed with all his strength. They all watched as it slowly dissipated. Ven turned his head to see Kairi and Naminé hiding behind Sora and Roxas, who were currently looking at him with awe and confusion.

"What an unlikely coincidence. Three pieces of the puzzle gathered in one place. It must be the work of fate." An amused voice spoke. Recognizing it, Ven turned his head to see the person who caused all his current problems. Master Xehanort was standing about ten feet away, a cocky grin spread across his face.

"What is wrong Ventus? You don't look like you are happy to see me." Master Xehanort said teasingly.

"What are you doing here?!" Ven shouted in anger. Why was he here? How did he even find him? Ven ground his teeth together in frustration. He knew they would probably battle, but he couldn't fight and protect the kids at the same time.

Xehanort grinned wickedly and began to walk forward slowly. Ven gripped his Keyblade tighter as he fought the urge to run. He had to protect his brothers and the girls. He couldn't be afraid; he had to be strong for them.

"I originally came here to collect you Ventus. But, be it my luck that I found the last two Princesses of Heart in the same place." Ven's eyes widened in surprise as he took a quick glance at the girls. The seven Princesses of Heart were said to have pure hearts of light and no darkness within them. Xehanort acted like he already had the others, even though they are supposedly hard to find. What would he need them for anyway? Master Xehanort stopped abruptly five feet away before outstretching his hand as if asking for candy.

"If you would be so kind as to hand them over?" He said in a polite voice.

"No way!" Ven immediately replied. He raised his Keyblade defensively and took a small step backwards. Xehanort frowned, but kept his arm extended.

"How rude, Ventus." He slowly shook his head, imitating disappointment. "And here I let you spend some time with your family and you won't even fulfill my simple request?" He lowered his hand and began slowly walking forward again.

"You know, it's truly a waste of potential." Xehanort continued. "If you just listen to me, you could be the most powerful being in all the worlds. Maybe, your brothers have the same potential. I'm sure they are more willing to listen." Xehanort slowly moved his gaze to look at the two young boys who stood behind Ven, but before he was able to get a good look at them, Ven moved to block his view.

"Sora, Roxas, I want you to take the girls and run." Ven instructed quietly. He never took his eyes away from Xehanort.

"Who is he?" They asked in unison. They tried to see past Ven, but their movements were limited due to Kairi and Naminé clinging to them.

"It doesn't matter. You need to get far away from here and hide. Is that clear?" Ven replied.

"We don't want to run! We can help!" Sora argued. This time, Ven turned his eyes to them and gave them a half glare, causing them to cringe.

"Run." He said sternly. Ven turned around to Xehanort and got into fighting position. Sora was about to argue further, but stopped when his twin covered his mouth. Sora huffed in defeat. Roxas and Sora grabbed the girls and ran in the opposite direction of Xehanort.

"I really don't feel like playing another hide and seek game." Xehanort stated in a bored tone. A dark portal suddenly appeared in Sora and Roxas path, nearly causing them to fall. Vanitas calmly stepped out of the portal and looked down at them. Ven gasped and was about to run to them, but quickly turned back around to block Xehanort Keyblade from striking him. Quickly thinking, Roxas signaled Sora and the girls to run off to the side between the houses.

"Vanitas, capture the girls. I suppose you can do what you want with the boys." Xehanort instructed. Vanitas nodded silently before taking off after the kids.

"Wait!" Ven shouted.

"I don't think you have time to worry about them." Xehanort interrupted. He applied more pressure to his Keyblade, causing Ven to groan from the pressure as his feet began to slide backwards. "If you had just listened to me, none of this would have happened. Now, not only do I get the princesses regardless, I also get you. And Vanitas gets to have a little kill joy." Xehanort explained with an innocent tone.

* * *

They had been running for about ten minutes before they finally lost the strange man with the armor. The problem was, Sora and Roxas accidentally ran into a dead end fenced alley. They were all too short and weak to attempt to climb over the wooden fence, so Kairi suggested they just find a hole to crawl through. Hurriedly, they found the weakest part of the fence and attempted to kick it out. They weren't able to kick out the whole plank, but they kicked off a section big enough for them all to crawl through.

They rushed Kairi and Naminé ahead of them, constantly glancing behind them for any signs of the man's approach.

In a different situation, Roxas and Sora would have had a dispute over who gets to go through the hole first. But Roxas knew the situation was serious and quickly crawled in after Naminé, as not to cause any possible arguing. Sora took one last glance behind him before also crawled through the hole.

Sora was halfway through as he dug his fingers into the gritty dirt before he felt a set of burying fingers grab at his ankle. His voice clogged with paralyzing fear, he only had time to yelp as he was harshly dragged backwards; it greatly reminded him of a horror movie scene he had seen once before, but this time he couldn't tell himself 'It isn't real, it's only a movie', because it was happening to him that very moment as he heard a much excited voice dripping with evil "Heeeeeeere's Vanny!"

With that said, Vanitas brutally yanked Sora from the hole and threw him far from his escape path. Sora landed on his stomach and rolled to a painful stop about ten feet away from the fence with Vanitas slowly approaching him.

"I can't believe we have to go through so much trouble just to find a couple of wimps." He stopped in front of Sora and watched as he shakily tried to get up on his hands and knees. "Pitiful." He stated and promptly kicked Sora in his stomach, making him roll even further away from the fence.

If Sora were able, he would have cried in pain. Not only his body was hurting, but his heart too. He struggled to regain his breath as he gasped desperately. He was too weak to attempt to get back up again, so he lied on his back with his eyes squeezed shut.

_'Sora!'_ Roxas called mentally. Sora opened his eyes just in time to see Vanitas roughly grab the front of his shirt and lift him high in the air. Unable to move, he hung limply in exhaustion.

_'Roxas! Run away with Kairi and Naminé!'_ Sora announced. If Roxas came back now, the armored man would hurt him too. He watched on fearfully as Vanitas lifted his free hand that was already positioned into a fist ready to pummel him.

Ignoring his plea, Roxas desperately squeezed his way back through the hole. Sora was being held up in the air by the bad man and he looked hurt. Anger overrode Roxas's previous fear as he suddenly got to his feet and sprinted towards them.

"Leave Sora alone!" He shouted. Roxas latched onto his leg in attempt to make him fall, but Vanitas didn't even budge. Annoyed, Vanitas heedlessly struck Roxas on his face, causing him to scream out and fall to the floor clutching his cheek whimpering loudly.

"Pathetic." He said in disgust. "You aren't even worth my time!" He kicked Roxas and sent him flying into the fence he once escaped from. Roxas let out a pained groan, but didn't get back up.

Vanitas turned back to Sora. He had regained a little of his strength and fiercely clawed at the hand that held his shirt. Vanitas laughed humorously and threw Sora back to the ground, making him cry out in pain.

"I finally realize how much more fun it is to torment little kids rather than those three...mainly Aqua. And you know who else? Venny...poor helpless Venny who won't come to the cries of his little sibling." He taunted.

He picked Sora up again by the front of his shirt and instead of throwing him back to the ground once more, he threw him against the concrete wall that lined the alley with all his strength. Sora hit the wall with an audible fleshy smack and slid down the wall as his eyes slowly closed shut. After a moment, Vanitas huffed in acute boredom and approached the unconscious Sora.

"Well, I've had my fun. You no longer entertain me if you can no longer scream in terror and pain." He summoned his devilish dark Keyblade and raised it slowly in preparation to strike. "Sweet dreams." He said with a sickly sweet tone.

"NO!" Roxas suddenly yelled from his side just as Vanitas began to swing. His movement suddenly stopped and he found the Keyblade wouldn't move from its position. Seeing what he thought was hesitation, Roxas scrambled hurriedly to Sora and shielded over him.

With a grunt, Vanitas forcefully tried to bring down his Keyblade to impale them. After a moment, he released his hold and examined it with ire. The only explanation he could think of that would prevent him from striking with it would be a stop spell. But he knew neither of the boys could have possibly cast one, let alone one strong enough to stop him. He also realized the Keyblade wasn't under a spell at all. It was simply as if someone pressed the pause button on it.

Though the situation peaked his interest, he didn't feel like wasting time exploring the possibilities. He easily un-summoned his blade and began to conjure a dark sphere in his hand, much to Roxas's horror. It was almost like the one that killed the man in their dream. Roxas squeezed his eyes shut and held Sora's motionless form tightly.

"I must say, it has been a very enjoyable experience pulverizing you. But, I'm afraid all good things must come to an end." He proclaimed, as if truly disappointed. The sphere grew bigger by the moment and soon was the size of a basketball. Vanitas prepared to throw it at them, but stopped abruptly when he noticed Sora begin to glow.

Seeing the bright light, Roxas squinted open his eyes. Sora was glowing brightly and getting brighter by the second.

_'Sora?'_ Roxas asked in worry. He didn't get any response, but soon after Sora's brightness began to flicker spastically. _'Sora?!' _Roxas yelled internally. In one final flicker, the whole area was suddenly engulfed in Sora's light.

Sensing the danger, Vanitas quickly summoned a dark portal and retreated.

* * *

Master Xehanort and Ven halted their one-sided battle when light suddenly engulfed half the island. The light explosion wasn't big enough to reach their location, but it was so bright, Ven had to shield his eyes.

As the light faded, Ven's worry for his siblings grew. Ven had never seen anything like that before; what if Vanitas did something to them? Ven frowned and turned his anger towards Master Xehanort, but was surprised to see a frown was also settled on his features.

"Well Ventus, it seems not everything always goes as planned." He announced with a grin slowly creeping onto his lips. "Maybe, you'll be more willing to come with me if I give you more time to spend with your brothers?" He said in a questioning tone.

"I'll never go with you!" Ven shouted with the last of his breath. Though he was extremely exhausted, he readied himself in battle position once again, causing Xehanort to laugh.

"How stubborn you are. I suppose that is a good thing. It's a sign of a strong heart." He replied as he opened a dark portal behind him and began walking backwards. "We wouldn't want your heart to grow weak, now would we?" He took one final step into the portal and it slowly dissipated.

Ven waited a couple of seconds after the portal vanished before he took off in the direction the kids ran not even fifteen minutes before. He looked down every space between the houses and down every path, but they were no where in sight. His worry became almost unbearable.

About five minutes into his search, he heard crying as he passed a fenced alley. He stopped abruptly and quickly ran towards the noise. To his relief, he spotted Naminé and Kairi crying over unconscious Roxas and Sora.

The girls heard him coming and jerked their heads up in fear, but their fear dissolved into obvious comfort. Kairi stood up from her knees just as Ven stopped in front of them.

"Are you guys okay?" He asked softly as he bent down and patted her head. Kairi and Naminé shook their heads negatively before responding.

"T-they won't wake up. And S-sora is bleeding." Kairi explained with a shaky voice. Ven turned his attention to the boys. Roxas was shielding protectively over Sora, much like he had the night of their nightmare. His cheek seemed to be swelling and old tears stained his face.

Sora was sitting with his back against the wall and had many bruises on his arms and legs. They were only barely noticeable, but Ven still worried they would darken later on. He also had a pretty bad nosebleed that stained his face and the front of his shirt crimson red.

Ven moved Kairi back a bit so he could scoot closer to the boys. He softly grabbed Roxas under his arms and laid him to the side in a more comfortable position. Ven looked over him once more for any other injuries. Finding nothing but a few scratches, he turned his attention to Sora.

Ven didn't have anything on him to wipe some of the blood from his face, so he tried using the bottom of his shirt, but Sora's nose was still bleeding heavily. Every time he wiped some away from his face, it was only replaced by fresh blood. He gave up trying to wipe it from his face and gently pulled Sora off the wall. Sora was oddly limp and began to fall sideways. Ven quickly caught his head, but instantly met with warm liquid. Startled, he shifted Sora so he could see his hand; it was covered in blood.

Ven sucked in air and willed himself not to panic. Sora was not only bleeding from his nose, but also his head. Those were usually signs of a severe concussion. Ven swiftly sat down on the ground and slowly pulled Sora into his lap so he could hold him still.

"Kairi. I need you and Naminé to do exactly what I tell you, okay?" He said hurriedly, not taking his eyes off of Sora's still form. "You need to go into the street and tell the nearest person that someone down here needs emergency medical attention." He urged. They nodded before running back down the alley.

* * *

_Sora sat there calmly. He was in the barren field again, but this time, no one was fighting. In fact, no one was there at all. Thousands of Keyblades littered the ground forming a crossroad with Sora sitting in the center. If one were far away, they would assume it was a massive graveyard. _

_Normally, Sora would be scared out of his wits end, but he was too memorized by the perfect heart shaped moon that filled him with warmth just by looking at it. It felt so close and comforting; it felt many times better than when their mother held him._

_But even with its warmth, the moon didn't fill Sora's loneliness. He was happy the armored people weren't fighting anymore, but now, he was all alone in a barren wasteland. There were only whispers. They all whispered his name. Who were they anyway? Some were sad, some were happy, and there were some he didn't want to hear; they were too scary. _

_Out of all the voices, he could hear Roxas the best. It was like he was talking right next to him, calling his name, but when Sora looked, he was still all alone. Tears welled in his eyes as he continued to stare at the moon positioned in the sky._

_**'Roxas.'**_

* * *

Ven wondered why all of this was happening. He came to celebrate his brothers' birthday and everything turned to poop.

He was sitting in a lounge chair next to Sora's hospital bed with Roxas still sleeping in his lap. The girls were afraid to go home and wanted to stay with the boys, so they slept on a couch located near the door.

Ven gently played with Roxas hair. Roxas didn't obtain any major injuries, only a few scratches here and there. He cheek was a bit swollen, so the doctor put a big bandage on it so Roxas wouldn't irritate it when he touched it.

Ven's gaze shifted to the still unconscious Sora. Surprisingly, the bruises on his skin didn't get as bad as he thought they would, but the many bandages that were wrapped neatly around Sora's head reminded him that bruises were the least of his worries. Their mom was currently talking to a doctor outside of the room about Sora's condition. He was sure it would be pretty bad; Sora had bled so much that he might even have some anemia. Ven leaned a little further into his chair just as their mother opened the door.

She looked extremely exhausted. Dark circles and bags under her eyes plagued her features. Her mouth seemed to be in a permanent half frown and her eyebrows stuck in a worried knit. She carefully pulled up the other armchair in the room next to Ven and sat down with her coffee. They sat in comfortable silence.

"So... how much sugar is in that coffee?" Ven asked softly. He really just wanted to get straight to Sora's condition, but he wasn't sure how emotionally stable she was. She was quiet for a moment before she turned her eyes on Ven with a smile.

"I'd say enough to last an eternity. I'll die of from a sugar rush before I get the opportunity to sleep." She joked. There was a pregnant pause before she sighed. "The doctor said Sora only has a moderate concussion. Usually they wouldn't lose consciousness, but because Sora is so young, the damage could be considered severe." She continued. "Lucky, he got some medical attention before it was able to become severe, but it was cutting pretty close. He assured me that he would completely recover in about six months or less.

"He said he could probably wake up today, but it's not likely. If not today he will probably stay asleep for a couple of days. And he will probably have head aches and tinnitus and some other things to watch for." She finished. Ven nodded solemnly as she wiped away some tears that threatened to fall from her eyes.

"I sent an emergency message to Land of Departure. Some help should arrive soon. We won't be so unprepared if they decide to come back." He reassured. "And if it gets too serious... we'll take the girls to Land of Departure. Maybe Sora and Roxas too because he knows who they are now." He explained quietly. He watched guiltily as she put her face in her hand, no doubt to hide more tears. He didn't like to see her so worried and sad.

"Mom, maybe you should go home and rest. You haven't gotten any good rest for a while. I know you're worried, but if you continue on like this, you'll get sick." She was quiet before she suddenly stood up and wiped her face with her arm.

"I guess you're right." Her voice cracked. She smiled softly and leaned down to kiss Ven on his forehead. "I love you." She whispered sadly.

"I love you too mom." He replied. She quietly walked to the door and grabbed the knob.

"Thank you, Ven." She said as she left the room. The door shut quietly and Ven sighed softly.

He looked back at Sora who was still and quiet on the bed. He wondered if he was beginning to get used to having quiet little brothers. Both were usually so energetic and carefree, but something beyond their understanding was wrecking the peaceful life they once knew.

"...Sora." Roxas whispered. Ven looked down at Roxas who had a look of concentration painted on his face. He wasn't awake, but he whispered Sora's name every now and then. Ven assumed he must be trying and failing to use their newly found telepathic abilities. Ven unwillingly closed his eyes and slept uneasily.

* * *

"-en." A voice called. He squeezed his eyes tighter and hoped the voice would go away. Unfortunately, the voice was now slapping his face. "Ven!" No matter how hard he struggled to stay in the blissful unconsciousness, it wasn't meant to be.

"What?" He drawled in a sleepy tone. He still didn't open his eyes. The voice huffed and then another deeper voice was heard laughing softy.

"And here I thought you'd be happy we came back. Maybe we should just leave." The voice replied. Ven hesitantly opened his eyes to meet the displeased expression on Aqua's face. He almost sprung up in happiness and relief, but quickly reminded himself that Roxas still slept in his lap. He sighed sadly and moved some of Roxas hair from his face before looking back up at Terra and Aqua.

"I didn't think they were going to send you two back." He replied. Aqua took a seat on the couch next to the sleeping girls while Terra just leaned back into the wall.

"The whole mission was basically a bust." Terra explained. "We were assigned to assist the world called Radiant Gardens from a possibly large force of Unversed."

"But when we got there, the whole town was destroyed and there wasn't a person in sight." Aqua continued. "Luckily, we got information that the survivors were able to escape to Traverse Town."

"But enough about that. Tell us what happened? You didn't put much in the message other than there was an emergency. Didn't your mom tell you about your letters?" Terra half joked. Ven smiled sadly.

"Well... Master Xehanort and Vanitas came here." Aqua inhaled sharply and the room became quiet.

"It was all a trap." Terra said quietly after a long silence. "He attacked Radiant Gardens on purpose so that we would be called away and you would be left alone!" He snapped. After his declaration, the room was quiet again before Aqua spoke up.

"What happened? How did Sora end up so injured?" Ven took a slow breath before speaking again.

"Master Xehanort showed up and said he came for me, but luckily, he happened to find two of the Princesses of Heart as well." He paused and let his gaze fall to Kairi and Naminé while he let the information take hold. Aqua's wide eyes slowly traveled to the sleeping girls.

"While I was fighting Master Xehanort, Sora and Roxas were able to run away, but Vanitas went after them." He continued. "Kairi and Naminé told me they lost him and were escaping through a fence. But Sora was somehow caught. Then Roxas went to help, but they heard some screaming. They peaked back through the hole and saw Vanitas about to hit them with the Keyblade, but they said it looked like the Keyblade was stuck in the air.

"Then she said he just let it go and it was still stuck." He said in a confused tone. "Anyways, she said it suddenly disappeared and a dark ball started appearing in his hand." Terra and Aqua could sense the anger that slid into his tone. "But before he could hit them with it, Sora started to glow and flicker... then he exploded." Ven finished bewildered. "Even I saw the light from where I was fighting. Then Master Xehanort left, saying 'things don't always go as planned'."

"Are you sure it was Sora that gave off that light?" Terra asked. Why would a five year old be exploding with light that even made Master Xehanort seem nervous?

"Well... I think there's something special about them." Ven explained. A small smile started to spread across Terra's face, much to Ven's annoyance. "And no, I don't have a younger brother complex; I seriously mean I think there's something special about them." He added quickly. Aqua snorted quietly in laughter anyway.

"Just listen." Ven sighed. "I finally got them to tell me what was wrong. They were having nightmares about people fighting with Keyblades." He continued.

"That's impossible! They didn't even know about the Keyblade while all that was going on..." Aqua denied.

"I know. They were having nightmares about people fighting and killing each other with them, but the weirdest thing is they were IN the SAME dream." Terra looked at him skeptically. "I'm serious! I didn't believe it either. But I know it's true. Both of them were in the same dream, together. And apparently, they can communicate with each other in their minds. If you watch them for even five minutes, you'll understand. They're always having their own conversation unheard to anyone but them." There was a pregnant pause before he continued.

"Lastly... they can both wield a Keyblade." Terra's eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't want them to be scared of people who had Keyblades, so I showed them mine. They wanted to hold it and voila, they can hold it by themselves." Just as he finished, Aqua stood from the couch and slowly walked across the room toward the sleeping Sora.

"Hey Ven, do you mind in I check their hearts? I really don't know how all this stuff is possible... but the heart is the first place to start." She questioned. Ven immediately nodded his head and Aqua put her palm softly over Sora's heart.

Ven and Terra waited patiently for her assessment, but grew worried when a look of confusion settled on her features. She closed her eyes and was quiet for another moment before she opened her eyes wide in amazement.

"...Terra, come check this for me." She said quietly. Terra glanced at Ven before he removed himself from the wall and stood by her side as he placed his hand over Sora's heart. Another minute passed and Terra's expression also turned into confusion.

"What wrong?" Ven asked tensely.

"...Nothing is 'wrong' per say... but something is strange." Aqua answered.

"Sora's heart is at least one hundred times larger than an average person." Terra replied. Ven gasped in surprise. Normally hearts were only 'brighter' not 'bigger'. To put it simply, it should be absolutely impossible. But, Ven's heart was slightly bigger than normal, much to Master Eraqus's bewilderment. Thanks to that, he was always kept under a watchful eye, but apparently, not watchful enough.

"... Are you sure?" He asked. Troubled, Aqua nodded.

"Can we check Roxas too?" She asked. Again, Ven approved instantly. She calmly approached Roxas who was obliviously still sleeping. She bent forward before she gently placed a hand on his chest. Again, she looked awed and stood up straight.

"Roxas's heart is very large too. Not as big as Sora's though. Still... your heart doesn't even raise a flag against theirs." Aqua reported. It was then that Terra realized something no one else seemed to have noticed.

"Guys... what if Master Xehanort wants Ven because his heart is a little bigger than normal? Other than being a Keyblade wielder, Ven isn't all that great." Terra finished, ignoring the glare he was receiving from Ven. Ven quickly sobered when he became aware of certain dangers.

"What if Master Xehanort finds out about them? If that's true, then he won't hesitate to take them. I wasn't even able to protect them last time." Ven drew Roxas closer to him and lifted his gaze worriedly to Sora. Aqua sighed and softly rubbed his head.

"You won't need to worry about that Ven. That's what we're here for." Terra reassured. "Last time, they caught you unprepared and alone. If he decides to pay a visit this time, we'll be ready."

"... I also think we should take them all to Land of Departure. It's safer there." Aqua suggested. Ven smiled and agreed.

* * *

"Mind telling me how you could have possibly messed up catching a couple of little girls?" Xehanort asked in a falsely calm voice.

"Like I said, there wasn't anything I could do about it. One of those boys somehow rendered my Keyblade useless without a spell and the other decided to explode in my face before I was able to do anything." Vanitas replied. Xehanort gave him a warning glance before walking to stand in front of the large window that revealed a dark forest with very tall trees.

"So, that Sora boy is the one who gave off that light?" Xehanort asked, intrigued.

"Didn't I just say that?" Vanitas answered.

"And you say the other , Roxas, somehow stopped you from using your Keyblade without even the slightest spell." Xehanort continued. He reached out to the glass window and slowly traced an invisible heart. "They seem more interesting than I originally thought. Maybe I should give them a closer look." He finished. After all, he only needed a moments glance to analyze their hearts.

* * *

Ehehe? Oops. Looks like they already caught MX's attention....

_Before Rewinding, Please flip the tape to side B_

Sooo.... yeah! Please don't kill me! Yes, Sora and Roxas got their butts handed to them. And before you accuse me of anything, Sora and Roxas just happen to be 2 of my fav characters! D: I just happen to like seeing them in pai- I mean, **distress**.

-As for analyzing the heart thing, it's just something Terra and Aqua learned in their training to become masters, but Ven hasn't gotten there yet. (He hasn't gotten to a lot of things has he?) To do it, they must at least touch the person, or be EXTREMELY close. But touching right over the heart is easier and better over all.

-But MX is so experienced and stuff, he just needs to look to analyze. If he wanted to do a thorough job though, then he would touch them.

-Something you're probably wondering: WHY DIDN"T VENNY JUST HEAL HIM WITH CURE OR SOMETHING. Well, you must understand in my AU (possibly even canon, I don't know) 'Cure' only cures wounds to the heart. Not physical injuries which is what Sora got. So unversed, heartless, nobodies, all of them only affect your heart, not your body. Okay?

**Things to think over!:**

1. Why did Sora give off that light?

2. Why did Vanny's keyblade freeze up like that? (Actually question 'what' or 'who' made Vanny's keyblade stop like that.)

3. Depressed Mommy :( (Not really anything to think over but... I just wanted to point that out. Nothing special. I just kinda like her character.)

4. Why did Sora's heart start hurting when he was thrown away from 'everyone'? (hint hint: was it 'everyone'?)

* * *

Also! Remember to check out these stories! I promise they are LOADS better than my beginner fic. XD

Rogue of the Fallen by: CrimsonDarkness 0013

Part 1 of Shards of Fate trilogy. Sora is once again ready to set off for another adventure, ready to 'reconnect' the mysteries of the past, but from that past a hidden entity lurks that plans to eliminate the existence of the Keyblade.

The Guardian: Key of Destruction  by: AngelOfLostLight

Prt. II of III. When an ancient darkness returns and threatens the peace between light and dark; Sora, Riku, and Kairi must put a stop to it, but it seems they want Sora for something...

**And a C2 I highly recommend looking at!** (just add this at the end of fanfiction . net)

/community/No_Escape/75183/3/0/1/

--This C2 is a collection of stories where our beloved Sora, Riku, or Roxas is portrayed as the "damsel in distress".

And there are more recommendations on my page! ^_^

* * *

Thank you for all the alerts, favorites, reviews, heck thanks for everything! You don't realize how happy I get reading reviews. XD Coming next week: **Ven's Prelude!**


	11. Ven's Prelude

**_A/N: _**Sorry it' so late! . I was being squashed by the biggest BLOCK you have ever seen. Seriously. So, it might seem kinda rushed or skips around, but I think it came out decent....

Alright, so we go back to the semi-beginning! Ven's Prelude everybody!!!

(P.S. Please vote on the poll on my page :D I really don't have a problem writing them, but would you rather me write out complete scenes that are exactly like BBS scenes, or kinda summarize them? Your choice! I would rather summarize them.)

Thanks for the help **AngelOfLostLight**(beta!) and **CrimsonDarkness 0013**(plot assistant!)!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too....

* * *

**Ven's Prelude**

"Mom! I already told you I have to come back anyways. Why are you packing my whole closet!?" Frustrated, Ven immediately grabbed a handful of the clothes from his suitcase and stuffed it back into the closet. His mother slapped him over his head and pushed him to the side.

"You need to be properly packed! You're going to a different world after all. You don't know what you might need." She explained. She grabbed more clothes and gently folded them. Ven sighed and rubbed his head.

"Mom, I'm not even going to be gone that long. Two days at most. So why are you packing like I'm going to be gone for a year?" He reasoned. She ignored him and began humming while stuffing clothes into the suitcase. Ven sighed in defeat and silently walked out of his room.

He had been invited to try out to become a 'Keyblade wielder'. He seemed to fit their criteria and he was asked to complete a trial for entry. The trial would take place on a different world called Land of Departure.

In all honesty, Ven didn't even know other worlds existed besides this one. He thought the whole situation was a joke at first, but he decided to do it anyway. If it was a joke, the most that could happen was Ven getting embarrassed, so why not?

As Ven shut his bedroom door behind him, he heard the distant yelling of his siblings, no doubt getting into another argument. Ven slowly made his way to the front door and leaned against the door frame. The yelling became louder and louder before Roxas and Sora suddenly rounded the corner.

"Roxas! You cheated again! This doesn't count!" Sora shouted from behind.

"No, you're just too slow!" Roxas said with laughter. They came to a stop in the front yard and Ven watched on in amusement. The twins practically argued over everything, which normally ended in a scuffle, but usually someone was there to stop them.

"You did cheat! You started runnin' before I said start!" Sora complained. Roxas simply put his fingers in his ears and hummed loudly as to ignore his yelling, which made Sora even more upset. Sora was just about to tackle his brother to the ground but Ven was able to grab him by the back of his shirt, preventing him from running forward.

"What are you doing Venny?!" Sora shouted. He was about to continue yelling but yelped when Ven suddenly picked him up from behind. Ven grabbed him under his arms and turned him around to face him as he held him out with a small smile across his lips.

"Sora, what did mom say about fighting?" Ven asked in a quizzical tone. Sora scowled and poked out his lip.

"But Roxas cheated." He pouted. Ven shook his head and raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't ask if Roxas cheated. I asked you what mom said about fighting." Sora huffed and looked away.

"Mommy said not to fight." He said quietly. Ven nodded and set Sora back on the ground.

"And Roxas, you know it's not fair to cheat when you're racing." Roxas paled.

"But I didn't cheat! I just got a head start." He argued.

"Getting a 'head start' is cheating Roxas." Ven explained.

"But Riku said it's not!" He continued. Ven grunted in aggravation. His little brothers listened to everything Riku said. He knew they were gullible, they only just turned four after all, but he didn't think kids could be so naïve.

"I wanna a rematch Roxas! No head starts!" Sora declared.

"No can do kiddo. It's getting late and it's time for you two to eat dinner." Ven said quickly.

"But it's not that late. I don' wanna go inside yet." Roxas complained. Ven turned around and started to walk slowly towards the house.

"You both have daycare tomorrow, so you need to go to bed on time today." He finished. Ven continued to walk towards the house, but stopped abruptly when he didn't hear them walking behind him. He turned around, only to see a used plastic bag flying loudly in the wind; the twins were no where in sight.

Ven rubbed the bridge of his nose in some amusement, but mostly frustration. He must have been really stressed out to forget they liked playing 'hide and seek' at times like this. It wasn't really a problem though; he already knew exactly how to find out where they were hiding. He walked away from the house again and pretended to survey the area with a false look of confusion.

"Hmm... I WONDER WHERE SPIKY 1 AND SPIKY 2 WENT?!" He yelled loudly.

"I said don' call me that!" Sora shouted immediately after. Ven eyes immediately shot to the bush located right next to their mail box. The rest of Sora's words were muffled by an apparently angry Roxas.

"You stupid stupid head! Now he knows where we are!" Roxas complained. Suddenly, the late evening sun was blocked and all that was left was a looming shadow. Sora's eyes widened as he looked past Roxas, his mouth still firmly covered by Roxas's hand and trapped under his body.

Roxas gulped audibly and slowly turned his head to look at his older brother. Ven currently had a sweet smile on his face with his eyes closed to make two semi circles.

"H-hi Venny." Roxas said shakily as he slowly removed his hand from Sora's mouth and crawled off of him. Ven's smile only widened further, causing Roxas and Sora to back up slowly. Ven dropped his smile and opened his eyes to look at his little brothers as they slowly backed away.

"What's wrong guys? Why are you backing away? I'm not going to do anything." He lied. The twins shook their heads vigorously and started to move away faster when Ven began moving forward.

"Yes you are Venny! You always do somethin' after you smile like that!" Sora answered with a frightened tone.

"Oh Sora! I didn't know you knew me so well!" He exclaimed as he suddenly lunged forward to grab them.

For the next couple of minutes, the island was filled with desperate laughter that could almost be mistaken as crying.

* * *

"You know, they are going to miss you so much." Their mother remarked in a sweet voice. Ven had just helped them get ready for bed. They begged for him to read a bedtime story since it could be a while before he read them another, so he read them 'Peter Rabbit'. He really didn't want to, given the main character sneaks around and acts mischievous, they could get ideas. The awe on their faces and their 'planning' soon after proved they did. He closed their bedroom door quietly and gave his mother a skeptical look.

"Mom, it's probably not even going to work out. Stop worrying so much." Ven replied, knowing she was hiding her true feelings. She sighed heavily and walked over to hug her son tightly.

"How can I not worry? You're going somewhere far away and I probably won't see you for a while. When you go, make sure you write us letters. And not those crap notes you send to everyone else. I want real letters, okay?" She said sternly.

"I'm probably not even going anywhere, why are you so serious?" His voice was slightly muffled given she technically was hugging his head. She rested her cheek on his hair before she continued.

"Ven, I have no doubt that you are exactly what these 'Keyblade Wielders' are looking for. If the requirements were honesty, kindness, and courage, I don't know why they didn't invite you sooner." Ven blushed slightly and tried to pull his head from his mother's grip. She lifted her brow and grinned.

"And what is it that you're doing? You may be able to get your brothers, but you're still my little boy to me."

"Let go of my head!" He grunted. She lifted her head from his hair and huffed.

"Now, now Venny. The only reason your brothers can't get you is because they don't know your only tickle spot. Don't make me utilize my knowledge; just let me smother my eldest son in love before he has to leave!" She said as she squeezed his head harder.

"Ow! Ow! You're hurting me!" He complained as he tried to pull his head from her crushing grip. She sighed sadly and loosened a bit, but not enough to where he could get free.

"Well Venny, it looks like I have no choice." She shifted her fingers behind his ears and only touched it lightly, but Ven was already struggling not to break out laughing.

"M-mom! You're going to w-wake them up!" He struggled to announce without bursting out in laughter. His one and only tickle spot was located right behind his ears. Usually, even the slightest brush of a finger and his self-control would be out window.

"Oh? You're still able to talk? Usually by now you'd be on the ground unable to stop laughing." She said. She rubbed the spot behind his ears again.

"S-stop! It'll t-take forever to put them back to sleep!" He tried. He was too weak to try to push her off.

"You know that once Sora's out, he's out." She argued. "But, I suppose Roxas wouldn't be a happy camper if he were to wake up." She immediately let his head go and Ven fell to the ground trying to catch his breath and stomp down any remaining laughter. "Alright Ven, I packed up all your clothes for tomorrow so you'll be able to leave right away in the morning." She paused before continuing. "They will be so sad that they can't see you off." She finished quietly.

Ven looked up at her from the ground before he stood up and walked to his room.

"They'll be fine. Like I said, I'm probably not staying anyway." He replied.

* * *

"And remember you need to brush your teeth and don't just leave your hair so wild! You need to brush it too!" Their mother scolded. "And remember those letters! I want at least one full page of letter a month!"

"Mom! I told you I'm probably not staying!" Ven complained. They were currently walking down the hall towards the front door. His mother was dragging his huge stuffed suitcase full of unneeded clothes.

Ven walked a bit faster and quickly yanked open the door. He gazed out serenely at the usual dew covered morning. Birds were already chirping and he could have sworn he heard the distant caw of a rooster waking up other animals around the island no doubt.

_'I'm going to miss it here.'_ Ven thought absently. He immediately slapped his forehead, much to his mother's confusion. _'What am I thinking?, I'm probably not going to be accepted anyway.'_ Ven swiveled around to face his mother and grinned.

"Well mom, I guess I'll be seeing you soon!" He announced suddenly taking off.

"You better take care of yourself!" She called after him. She sighed as she watched him run off, but frowned when she noticed he was only carrying a small bag over his shoulder and not his suitcase. She looked down beside her with wide eyes and it was still sitting beside her. "VENTUS! YOU BETTER GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE!" She yelled, probably waking up the whole neighborhood.

Ven only slightly turned his head and laughed as he continued running towards his destination. She huffed in annoyance and attempted to slam the door, but the bulky suitcase prevented it from shutting. She growled in anger and kicked the bag inside the door before slamming it.

_'Just wait till he gets home. I'll get him good!' _She thought evilly. She sighed wearily as she leaned her back against the door with her eyes closed. She didn't show it in front of him, but she was actually quite sad her oldest son was leaving at all.

She sighed again and opened her eyes, but nearly jumped out of her skin. Sora was standing at the end of the hallway tugging softly at the front of his footies. He had a strange glint in his eyes as he stared at her quietly. She wondered absently how long he had been standing there; she hadn't notice him at all. She could usually hear him coming because he was so loud and could barely stay quiet for even two minutes. She stood there gaping at him before she closed her mouth an approached him.

"I'm sorry Sora. Did I wake you up?" She asked him as she crouched down to meet his eyes. Sora didn't answer, but continued to stare at her blankly and tug on his footies.

"... Does your chest hurt sweety?" She asked softly. He still said nothing, but moved his gaze to the door. She followed his eyes to the door, but turned back around to look at him worriedly.

"Venny already left Sora. But you'll see him soon okay?" She assured. He continued to look at the door for a few moments before turning back to her. She looked into his eyes and noticed they bore a strange glint in them. His eyes always showed innocence and purity, but now, they looked... ancient. She continued to look into his eyes until Sora suddenly blinked and the strange glint was gone, but he was still grabbing the front of his footies.

"Does your chest hurt?" She repeated. He immediately shook his head. "Is there something wrong?" She questioned again.

"...No." He replied softly.

* * *

Ven pulled off his plan effortlessly. He definitely wasn't going to lug that huge suitcase across the whole island. All he needed was the basic necessities.

He was currently rowing his way to the designated meeting place on Play Island. He was about fifteen minutes early, so he wasn't in a rush. As he rowed he stared longingly at the main island. He almost hoped this 'Keyblade Wielder' business was a joke so he could just go home.

He hummed loudly as he tied up his boat. He stood up to observe his knot with pride; it had to have been the best one he's tied in a while.

"You are late." A stern voice announced at his side. Ven yelped shrilly in surprise and caught his balance before he fell of the edge of the dock. He jerked his head around to find an old bald man standing at the edge of the dock near the sand frowning at him.

"...Who are you?" Ven asked after a moment. He had never seen him around the island before and he wasn't sure they would send such an old person to take him to another world. He was sure now it had to be one big joke.

"You are Ventus I presume? I am here to pre-test you on your ability to wield a Keyblade." He stated.

"Oh." Ven said simply. "But I'm not late. I'm at least ten minutes early now..." He corrected as he resisted the urge to look at the imaginary clock on his wrist.

"This is a formal occasion Ventus. You should treat this opportunity more seriously. You should have been here at least thirty minutes early in case something changed."

"...Sorry." Ventus said quietly as he brought up a hand to rub the back of his head in shame.

"It does not matter now." The man said plainly. He began to walk off the dock towards the beach and signaled Ven to follow him.

As they walked, Ven observed him from behind. He was indeed old. His back was hunched and he held his hands grasped behind his back. His head was cleanly bald and Ven was sure if the sun were fully shining, he would be blinded by its glow. The man stopped abruptly, startling Ven from his observation. He turned around and leveled Ven a half glare; Ven was almost worried he could read minds.

After a couple of minutes the man narrowed his eyes further and continued to stare at Ven. Ven stood as still as he could. He assumed this must be some weird part of his test, so he tried his best not to move.

"Come closer." The man suddenly instructed. Following directions, Ven quickly walked closer and stood directly in front of him. The man removed a hand from his back and placed it roughly on Ven's chest. After another moment, he removed his hand and took a few steps backwards.

"Congratulations, Ventus. You have passed the Keyblade qualification exam. My name is Master Xehanort and I will be your mentor." Xehanort announced. He allowed a small grin to spread across his lips as he observed Ven with piercing yellow eyes. As soon as he met the man's eyes, Ven immediately looked away; something about his eyes just unnerved him.

"So, I guess we're going to Land of Departure now?" Ven asked. He still wasn't exactly sure if this whole situation was a joke or not, but he was leaning towards not.

"There will be no need to report there given I have personally accepted you as my student." He proclaimed. Xehanort brought up his hand again and suddenly summoned his Keyblade, much to Ven's surprise.

"There is one final test I must give before I truly take you on as my pupil." He tossed the Keyblade to the still wide eyed Ven, causing him to yelp again as he barely managed to catch the Keyblade. He eyed it with awe and amazement, missing the strange way Xehanort eyed him.

"This is a Keyblade?" Ven asked quietly. Any doubt he had before had been easily obliterated.

"Yes, it is. And soon, you will have your own." Xehanort responded. Ven looked up from the Keyblade with another question of the tip of his tongue, but was quieted by Xehanort's odd smile. Normally, he would return the smile, but he couldn't find the will to do so and looked back down at the Keyblade nervously.

"If we aren't going to the Land of Departure, then where are we going?" Ven asked. Instead of answering him, Xehanort summoned a Corridor of Darkness to his side. Ven gasped and dropped the Keyblade, causing it to disappear, not that Ven noticed.

"W-what is that thing!" Ven asked shakily while pointing a shaky finger. Xehanort laughed humorously and turned to the Corridor of Darkness.

" You needn't to worry about that." Xehanort retaliated. "All you need to know is stepping through this will begin your training." Ven stared at the portal with confusion, fear, and a bit of astonishment and gulped audibly.

"...What if I don't want to train. Don't I at least get to go home first for a while?" He asked. He looked back at Xehanort but quickly looked away when his yellow eyes pierced his blue ones once again. From his quick glance, he noticed Xehanort was looking at him like he was a prize.

"I am afraid it is much too late for that, Ventus." Xehanort said with a smirk.

* * *

_"Master."_

_"Yes Terra?" Master Eraqus responded._

_"Wasn't a new recruit supposed to show up a few days ago?" He asked curiously. It was a bit rare for recruits to be called in, let alone accepted. Any possibility would be a big deal anyway._

_"... He was. Apparently a colleague of mine has already tested him and he passed, but he still should have reported back."_

_"Why didn't he? Did something happen?" Aqua asked a little worried. Eraqus looked thoughtfully at her before he turned and began to walk away._

_"That isn't something you two need to worry about right now." He answered. "Continue practicing. But know I will look into it." He finished with a warm smile._

* * *

"That boy... when I get my hands on him... I told him to send me a letter each month!" Their mother was currently going through the mail. Another month had passed by and still no letter from Ven; it had been seven months since he left.

She sighed as she threw the less important mail on the counter and walked to the fridge. The twins would probably be home soon so she figured she would make them some lunch. Just as she opened the fridge, Roxas suddenly entered the kitchen. She looked up from the refrigerator and gave him a smile.

"I didn't know you would get home so soon. I was just about to make you and Sora some lunch." She said. Her smile drooped a little when Roxas simply stared at her. She looked him over carefully and noticed his face was slightly flushed. She closed the fridge quickly and approached him.

"What's wrong Roxas?" She asked as she crouched and felt his forehead. As she suspected, he had a slight fever.

"... You're burning up. Where's Sora?" She asked. They usually always got sick at the same time.

"... Sora doesn't feel good." Roxas responded after a moment.

"I know, but where is he?" She asked again.

"He's in the front yard. And he said he's sad." Roxas explained. She nodded her head and picked him up to set him on the couch.

"You stay here okay? I'll be right back."

"Okay." He watched as she left out of the open door.

Like Roxas said, Sora was just standing on the grass. His face was much more flushed than Roxas's. She crouched in front of him and also felt his forehead; he was at least 103°.

"Come on baby, let's get you inside." She said as she picked him up. He jolted slightly at the contact as if he hadn't noticed she was there.

"...Mommy?" Sora uttered as she walked. She entered the door and closed it quietly behind her.

"Yes, Sora?"

"... I don't feel good."

"I know. I'm going to give you and Roxas some medicine and then you can sleep, okay?" Like he had months ago, Sora suddenly grabbed the front of his shirt and gripped it tightly. "... Does your chest hurt?" She asked, hoping this time he would respond. She temporarily took her eyes from him to look at Roxas on the couch, who had already fallen asleep.

"...Yes." He answered quietly. She turned back to him and pulled him closer to her.

"Does it hurt like it did the first time?" She questioned. She wasn't able to get anything out of him last time, but he seemed more willingly this time around.

"No. It didn't hurt the last time. I just felted weird." He acknowledged. She nodded and put him on the couch next to Roxas before she walked into the kitchen to find cold medicine. They probably didn't need it, but she always liked to nip the problem in the bud.

She pondered what pain Sora was feeling in his chest. He didn't have asthma, but they say it could develop over time. Maybe just some allergies or congestion. She walked into the living room and Sora was already dozing.

"Don't fall asleep yet." She scolded quietly as she tapped his cheek.

"But I'm sleepy." Sora whined softly. She poured a teaspoon of the medicine on the spoon and made him take it, however unwillingly. Soon after, she woke up Roxas and he took it with little to no protest at all.

When she was about to take the boys to their room, Sora suddenly began to cry. He wouldn't tell her what was wrong, but whatever it was, was also beginning to make Roxas upset. Instead she brought the boys to her room and lay down with them until they fell asleep.

_'I guess an afternoon nap wouldn't be too bad. Have to remember to take Sora and Roxas for a check-up at the hospital. Just in case.' _She thought before she fell asleep as well with Sora and Roxas bundled at her sides.

* * *

_Ven stood nervously in the barren wasteland. From what he had seen, there was nothing there but rocks and red-brown dirt. He stood alone as Master Xehanort eyed him critically from a medium high cliff._

_So far, his training had been hellish to say the least. Not to say Master Xehanort was a bad teacher, but fighting just didn't seem to be his thing. Whenever he tried to tell him this, Master Xehanort immediately gave him an almost impossible task to complete. Though most of the time he somehow got it done, he still failed quite often. Today was another one of those situations, but something about today just seemed... different. Xehanort had been standing there seemingly glaring at him for at least ten minutes._

_Suddenly to his side, a black puddle began forming. Confused, Ven slowly approached the mysterious puddle, but quickly backed up when a strange yellow eyed black creature slowly began rising from it. Ven took a quick glance at Master Xehanort. Seeing as the man wasn't surprised by its appearance, he supposed this was his test._

_Ven jumped back slightly and summoned his Keyblade in preparation, but stilled when he noticed another puddle forming next to the strange creature. Noticing a pattern, Ven glanced all around him only to see the same puddles surrounding him. Ven backed up slowly as many identical yellow eyed creatures rose from the ground. Eventually, Ven found himself surrounded._

_Sure, he could probably handle them one on one, but he was sure they would pounce on him as a group. There was no way he could fight them all, they were the same size as he was. Ven looked around panicked._

_"Please, stop it master! I'm not strong enough for this!" He begged._

_"No, you are simply holding back your inner darkness' urge to fight." Master Xehanort explained from his position. He moved a hand from his back as he further explained. "Now, set it free, turn it all into fear and hatred!" Ven simply watched as more creatures began to rise from dark puddles._

_"If you do not liberate the dark feelings in your heart, you will disappear from this world!" He continued. Ven took a couple of hesitant steps backwards as a few more rose from the puddles and fearfully raised his Keyblade in defense as the creatures began to come closer._

_"Yes, entrust your heart to darkness, and present me with the X-blade!" Just as Master Xehanort said this, a dark creature jumped straight at him. Ven screamed out in terror and impulsively raised his arm to defend himself._

* * *

Something about that boy was just too interesting. During their training, they could barely contain their curiosity.

Earlier that day, Master Eraqus carried an unconscious boy into a room down the hall. Terra and Aqua would see him enter and leave the room occasionally, but the boy had yet to emerge. They did sneak away from their training now and then to peek in the room, but he was sleeping every time they checked. Before calling a quits, they decided to check up on him one last time and give up if he wasn't awake; besides, Master Eraqus would tell them who he was eventually.

Terra and Aqua quietly crept down the hall towards the sleeping enigma. With a bit of hopefulness, they stopped at the door and peeked inside. Much to their surprise, the boy was sitting up in his bed. Much to their confusion, he seemed to just stare at the bed sheets with eyes that one would think belonged to a dead man; hazy, glazed over, dark, and droopy.

"What's wrong with him?" Aqua whispered next to Terra. Terra glanced at her before looking back at the boy.

"I don't know. I'll go ask." Terra replied as he walked into the doorway. The boy didn't even look at him as he approached. Terra stopped in front of the bed and waved. "Hello." He said. Still, the boy seemingly didn't even notice he was there and continued to stare at the bed sheets with dead eyes. A bit lost, Terra glanced back at Aqua who was still peeking into the room. She gave a quick nod telling him to continue.

"My name is Terra. What's your name?" He asked after a moment. Almost immediately, the boy slightly lifted his head, but didn't look at Terra.

"Ventus." Was his simple reply. Terra smiled.

"So you can talk after all." Terra turned back to Aqua with a triumphant grin. "Come in, Aqua." Aqua gave a short laugh before walking in the room to stand next to Terra. Ven slightly swiveled his head to look at them.

"I'm Aqua." She informed after a short pause.

"Terra." Ven said as he looked directly at Terra. "Aqua." He turned his head slightly to look at Aqua.

"Are you going to train here Ventus?" Terra inquired curiously. "Where are you from?" He continued, not noticing the distressed expression that began plaguing Ven's features. "Who brought you here?" He pursued.

Aqua watched Ven with a bit of worry when more confusion and distress became evident in his expression. She didn't think to stop Terra's questioning.

"Can you wield the Keyblade?" Terra asked once more. Without warning, Ven began wheezing as if in panic. Terra only had time to ask 'what's wrong' before Ven grasped his head with both hands and screamed at the top of his lungs. One couldn't ignore the pain wretched agony that echoed through the hall. The scream didn't last long as he collapsed onto the bed.

"Hold on!" Aqua said in concern.

"What are you doing?!" A voice boomed from behind. Terra and Aqua gasped and looked behind them to find Master Eraqus standing at the door authoritatively.

"I didn't mean- I was just asking some questions." Terra rushed to explain. Eraqus paused and looked past them at the now unconscious boy.

"Ventus cannot answer your questions." He paused again and looked at Terra and Aqua. "He has lost his memory." All they could do was gasp.

* * *

_Ven calmly approached Master Eraqus who was standing with a sad smile. Ven stopped in front of him and stood stiffly with respect._

_"You called me Master?" Ven asked curiously. Eraqus's smile spread before he placed his hands on each of Ven's shoulders. Eraqus simply gazed at him making Ven slightly nervous._

_"Ventus." He said after a moment. "I have a little mission for you. You can choose not to accept, but in the end it could help you." He finished as he pulled away and reached out in his coat to pull out a piece of paper before handing it to Ven._

_"What's this?" Ven asked highly curious. Master Eraqus was actually giving him a mission. It may be small, but getting to go to another world at all would be a big opportunity; despite certain dangers._

_Ven examined the paper and noticed it was a map of sorts. It was a mess of arrows and small scribbled text that he had to squint and read._

_"Those are the directions to your house." Eraqus said simply, aiming to gauge his reaction._

_"My house?" Ven mumbled absently as he concentrated on the paper. After a moment, he inhaled sharply in realization and looked back up at Eraqus with wide eyes. "My house?" He repeated quietly. Master Eraqus nodded solemnly._

_"You must realize that you may never recover your memories... but there is always a slight possibility you may recall something if you are somewhere familiar. Your mission is to visit your home." Ven's mouth open and closed like a fish, earning a small smile from Master Eraqus. Ven was extremely excited and all, but he was also nervous for various reasons._

_"But... what about... him." Ven replied quietly. "That was supposedly where I was... taken, so wouldn't he look there to find me?" Ven had the paper tightly gripped in his hands._

_"Do not worry so much Ventus. The world has been temporarily shielded by a colleague of mine. It will last for four days, then you must come back for your own safety." Eraqus explained. Ven's nervousness visibly deflated but a small amount stayed._

_"Do you accept the mission?" Eraqus asked in a more serious tone._

_"Y-yes!" Ven stuttered._

* * *

Though he shouldn't have been, he was definitely lost. He looked down at the directions he was given again, but it didn't help him any. He looked up from his paper to see yet another person smiling and waving at him. Used to it by now, he just plastered a smile on his face and waved back.

Ven had arrived on Destiny Island about thirty minutes ago and planned to go directly to his family's house with his directions, but the directions were fairly confusing and soon enough, he was completely lost.

He would have asked one of the many people who smiled and waved at him for help, but he was too nervous. If they knew him before he lost his memories, they would think he was acting very strange and probably not help him at all. He sighed and slumped over in frustration.

He had to admit the people and the places did seem familiar, but that's all it was, familiar. He didn't recognize anything. He sighed again and thought about just abandoning his little mission, but fate decided the decision wasn't his.

"VENTUS!" An angry voice shouted behind him. He jolted slightly and looked over his shoulder to see a woman standing not to far away from him with two plastic bags he assumed contained groceries. Her face was contorted into a snarl and her fists were wrapped so tightly around the plastic bags handles, her knuckles were white.

Ven simply gaped at her in surprise and fear. She was obviously mad at him for whatever reason, so she must have known him before he lost his memories. Not wanting to have a potentially violent confrontation, he simply turned back around a walked faster.

"Young man! Did you just ignore me?!" She shouted again. Before he had the chance to turn back around again, she yanked the back of his jacket, which caused him to slip and fall to the ground on his back painfully.

"You..." She growled viciously as she leaned over him. Ven looked at her from the ground with wide eyes. A few people watching the scene would describe it as a lioness who had trapped her poor rabbit prey. "I told you to mail me a letter ONCE A MONTH! And how long has it been?! ALMOST A YEAR?!" She hollered.

"But- I- I lost-" Ven tried.

"I DON'T CARE!" She interrupted.

"Listen! I-" He tried again.

"I don't want to hear your excuses, Ventus!" She said again before reaching down to grab the front of his shirt and lifted him to his feet. He opened his mouth to explain once again. But her eyes narrowed dangerously, making him shiver in fear.

"Shut. Your. Trap." She stated simply. He gulped, but didn't protest when she grabbed his arm and started half dragging him to some location unknown to him.

After what felt like about five minutes, they arrived at a small house. Like before, the house looked vaguely familiar, but it seemed more familiar than the rest of the island did. Spotting the mail box, he quickly looked at the numbers and then examined the directions he was given. The numbers were exactly the same.

_'I think this is my house...'_ Ven thought to himself. He then glanced at the woman currently pulling his arm and the solution suddenly struck him. _'And this must be my mom! Maybe that's why she was so angry. I was technically missing for almost a year...'_

In a rush, she unlocked the front door and yanked him into the kitchen before shoving him into a kitchen chair. She then walked to the counter and set the groceries down. She sighed heavily before she turned back around and leveled Ven with a glare.

"Ven, where have you been? It's been a year for heaven's sake! I've been so worried, I thought something happened and you got hurt or something! And your brother's missed you so much; they cry every now and then you know. What do you have to say for yourself?!"

The room grew quiet and all that could be heard was the clock ticking by seconds. Ven's mind was running wild. This really was his mother. Not only that, he had siblings too. He assumed they were younger than he was since they 'cried', but they could always be older. If they were anything like Terra he figured they wouldn't be hard to get along with, even if he didn't remember them. He had gotten used to being a 'younger brother' with Terra and Aqua around.

His 'mother' cleared her throat, easily bringing him out of his musings. She stared at him with hard eyes that were almost identical to his, causing him to flinch again as he scrambled for words to say.

"Um... uh..." He wasn't quite sure what to call her. It was awkward for him to call her mom or mother, so he did the next best thing. "Ms. Hikari, after I left from Destiny Islands to train, a lot of bad events occurred." He started, calling her by the name from his directions.

_'Ms. Hikari.'_ She repeated to herself. Her eyes narrowed in question. _'Why is he talking to me so formally? I'm his mother!'_ She resisted from expressing her thoughts out loud as he continued.

"I myself do not remember what, when, or how everything happened... but whatever happened caused me to lose all my memories of anything that happened more than 3 months ago..." He finished in barely a whisper. The room became dead silent; even the ticking clock seemed to drown in the silence.

"Are you kidding me?" She whispered shakily. "IS THAT THE BEST EXCUSE YOU CAN COME UP WITH?!" She suddenly yelled. He flinched and was going to argue back, but stilled when he saw tears begin to fill her eyes. "You go missing for almost a year-" She paused to wipe her face with her arm, "and come back saying you don't remember anything?!" Her voice quivered as she tried to hold back her emotions. Ven stood up and was going to approach her, but stopped mid way.

"I'm so-"

"Sora! What's wrong?! Why are we comin' back home all the sudden?!" A young boy's voice interrupted. The sound of running feet was heard just outside approaching the house. A moment later the front door was slammed open and two young boys ran into the kitchen looking winded. The brown haired one was bent over with his hand grabbing his chest trying to catch his breath. The blond haired one looked at him firstly in surprise, then happiness. He was about to say something but stopped and looked at him in confusion, as if he noticed something wrong.

Ven quirked an eyebrow at his many changing expression. Ven assumed they must be his brothers, obviously younger. By their appearance, they looked to be the same age so they could be twins, but the other boy's face was still hidden by his hair as he caught his breath.

"What are you boys doing home so early?" Their mother suddenly questioned as she walked closer to the two small boys.

"I dunno." Roxas huffed tiredly. "Me, Sora, and Riku were all on the beach tryin' to make a big castle for all the little crabies to live in. But Sora suddenly got up and started runnin' home. So I told Riku we would see him tomorrow." Roxas explained.

"Maybe you guys should play outside for a little longer while me and Venny have a little talk." She said, obviously trying to convince them to go somewhere for a while.

Ven looked at the brown haired boy who he guessed was named Sora. He seemed to have finally caught his breath, but was still grabbing at the front of his shirt. Apparently their mother noticed this too and bent down to his level.

"Sora, does your chest hurt?" She asked softly. Her voice was still a little weak and strained. The boy didn't respond to her at all and seemed to simply stare at the floor. "Do you feel sick again?" She asked this time.

In a quick motion, Sora brought up his head and his blue eyes locked immediately with his. Ven almost wanted to look away from the young boy's concentrated stare, but found it almost impossible. There was something about them that just grasped all his attention. About a minute passed as Roxas and their mother watched the two stare at each other, unblinking.

Suddenly, Ven grasped his head and let out a short screech of pain. She rushed to his side as he fell to the floor without warning. She repeatedly called out his name to deaf ears.

* * *

At first, everything was white, but soon enough, distant images began to pool his vision.

--..--..--..--

_"Daddy!" A young boy called as he ran clumsily across the beach. A man waited with open arms. He easily lifted the giggling three year old and tossed him in the air. _

--..--..--..--

_"Hey mommy, does your stomach hurt when it's like that?" Ven asked in curiosity. "Because even when I eat a lot, my stomach doesn't get as big as yours and it still hurts." His mother chuckled and ruffled his hair affectionately._

_"Of course not silly. There are two little boys in here and I bet they can't wait to meet you."_

--..--..--..--

_"Hey mom! Come here! Come here!" Ven called from the other room. Their mother temporarily stopped washing the dishes and peeked into the living room at two toddlers and her eleven year old on the floor; as usual, Sora was sleeping undisturbed by all the shouting._

_"Mom, Roxas just said his first word! I mean it this time!" He turned back around to the giggling Roxas with determination. "Alright, come on Roxas. Say it again." Ven encouraged. Instead of talking, Roxas just took to popping his mouth and jabbing his sleeping brother next to him._

_"Hm, I wonder what language that was." Their mother said jokingly, earning a glare form Ven. She laughed and walked back to the kitchen. Ven turned back to Roxas and continued to hold his glare._

_"Why don't you ever talk when she's around huh?" He asked. Roxas stopped jabbing Sora and turned to Ven before a half toothless smile spread across his lips._

_"Veyay!"_

--..--..--..--

_"Venny! Can you read us a story since you're goin' away?" Sora asked in hope. Roxas and Sora hopped up and down at his feet. Ven smiled._

_"What book do you want me to read?" He asked as he sat down on Roxas's bed._

_"Peter Rabbit!" Sora practically screamed while Roxas just nodded eagerly in agreement with a smile._

* * *

Ven groaned and he slowly reached up a hand to rub his forehead, only to meet wet cloth. Confused, he slowly opened his eyes to meet three identical pairs of blue eyes staring at him curiously, one being obviously laced with worry.

"Um... hi?" He said unsure of the situation. He looked away from the eyes and noticed he was in the living room on the couch. He moved his eyes back to the still staring eyes, but closed them when a stab of pain attacked his head.

"What was I doing? Did I get run over by a semi-truck?" He groaned.

"Ventus?" His mother said quietly. He twitched nervously and opened his eyes to look at her. She only called him his full name if he was in trouble.

"Yes?" He replied just as quietly.

"Do you really not remember us?" She responded. Confusion instantly painted across his features.

"Why are you asking that? Why wouldn't I remem.... oh." He said in sudden realization. Something happened to him on his way to Land of Departure and he lost all his memories. How could he have forgotten them? They were his family! He closed his eyes again as more recent memories made themselves known. He remembered everything but what happened after Master Xehanort said he had yet another test. Although he didn't remember what test it was or what happened after, it must have been bad seeing as he had to be 'rescued' for whatever reason.

"...I'm sorry. I remember everything now." He said after a moment. A small smile spread across his mothers' lips and she gently ruffled his hair. He returned it before turning to the other two sets of curious eyes. Sora and Roxas were staring at him like they were checking if something were wrong. Ven raised an eyebrow at their behavior, but brushed it off as silliness.

"...Hey." He said simply. Not even a second later, both boys jumped right on top of him voicing their happiness loudly that he had finally returned; later disappointed when he said he would have to leave again in a few of days. He had a lot to explain to his mother before then though.

* * *

Yay!

_The tape is finished Rewinding, Please remove it from the VCR_

So... like? XD Alrighty, so firstly... this was an example of my written out BBS scenes... I suppose it wasn't too hard. And somethings were left out on purpose. Yup yup.

Okay, so, you're probably wondering how Ven suddenly got back all his memories? I'm not going to tell you directly why, but I will say it's because he came in direct contact with Sora. I'm sure you can take a guess from that.

As for the 'rescue'.... well you see, that's what was blocking me. XD So I will save that for later. But just know Yen Sid was involved in the rescue. And they rescued him because MX was dubbed as.... super bad.

Also, in his flashbacks, the 'Daddy' part was added in there for fun and to make his life seem more... complete or something. Their dad hasn't been around and I don't think I'm going to bring hom in the story. But like their mom, he also doesn't have any importance. I haven't decided if he's dead... or it he went somewhere.


	12. Taken

**_A/N: _**Sorry it' so late!... again! Last week I had a WHOLE BUNCH of senior stuff going on in me life, so I had no time to type it out. But it's longer?

(P.S. Please vote on the poll on my page :D I really don't have a problem writing them, but would you rather me write out complete scenes that are exactly like BBS scenes, or kinda summarize them? Your choice! I would rather summarize them.)

Thanks for the help **AngelOfLostLight**(beta!) and **CrimsonDarkness 0013**(plot assistant!)!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too....

* * *

**Taken**

It had been two days and Sora had yet to even bat an eyelid. The previous day, Sora was discharged from the hospital, though he still hadn't woken up. The doctor had to reassure their mother many times that he would be fine and would definitely wake up soon; not that that stopped her from watching him like a hawk during the day.

Since they had all returned home, Roxas insisted on being by Sora's side at all times. It was a miracle that they were able to get him to go to the bathroom or take showers. Ven realized their 'sticking together' was much more serious than he originally thought. Before when they were separated, you could tell it was a mild discomfort for both of them. Now, Roxas acted like being too far apart was physically painful; by no means was he screaming in pain or anything, but he acted like he just skinned his knee with some tears threatening to fall and a shred of panic shown in his eyes.

After a mild debate between Ven and their mother, Roxas was allowed to sleep next to Sora. At first, their mother was hesitant because Roxas could accidentally harm Sora while he was sleeping, but Ven suggested a pillow placed in-between them would easily solve that problem.

It was early morning and the sun hadn't even decided to grace the island with its presence. Roxas shifted uncomfortably in annoyance as he tried to stay in the realm of sleep. For the past ten minutes, someone had been mumbling right in his ear. To say it was annoying was an understatement.

In an attempt to drown them out, he sleepily pulled his pillow over his head, but the mumbling persisted; if anything, it just got louder and clearer. In one final effort to drown out the constant noise, Roxas used his hands to cover his ears.

_'...Roxas.'_ A whisper called. That time, the voice was much clearer. Roxas shot up in bed and looked around the room. There wasn't anyone but Ven sleeping on Sora's bed. Roxas whipped his head around and studied Sora. Nothing about him had changed; he still had a peaceful sleeping expression with a few bandages around his head.

Roxas sighed tiredly and laid his head back down onto the bed. He figured he must have been imagining the whispers since no one was in the room. He thought it could be telepathy, but Sora hadn't called or answered him in days. Roxas forcefully shut his eyes, and once again attempted to fall asleep.

_'Roxas!'_ The voice called more urgently. Roxas jolted in shock and shot up again, immediately looking at Sora. He was sure this time it had to be Sora. Sora's face had scrunched in a mixture of pain and annoyance and he grumbled softly. Roxas could only stare at his brother with wide eyes and happiness.

As Sora began to stir, a couple of soft whimpers escaped his lips. Roxas's happiness quickly turned to worry. The previous day, their mommy had told him Sora's head would probably hurt and to get her or Venny if it did. Roxas hesitantly removed his eyes from the slowly waking Sora to glance at the still blissfully sleeping Venny across the room.

_'Roxas...'_ Sora called again followed by another pained whimper. Choosing not to answer, Roxas quickly climbed off his bed and ran to Sora's bed where Venny was currently sleeping. In a rush, he climbed onto Sora's bed and hopped onto the still sleeping Venny.

"Venny! Wake up! Sora's waking up and his head hurts!" Roxas shouted as he slightly bounced in an attempt to wake him. Venny groaned, but continued to sleep. In a hurry, Roxas thought up the next best thing and lifted his hands up in desperation.

* * *

_'Why do I feel so heavy all the sudden?'_ Ven though sleepily. It felt like a heavy weight had been placed right on his stomach. Just as he finished asking himself, the weight began to hop around and then there was some loud noise in his ears.

Choosing to ignore the 'strange phenomenon', he simply groaned and attempted to stay in the dreamy peaceful world. Just as it seemed his efforts were paying off, his cheeks began to burn like fire.

"OW!" He yelped and sat straight up, causing the weight on his stomach to yelp and fall backwards on the bed. Ven hastily touched his stinging cheeks and squinted his eyes sleepily at the seemingly frantic Roxas.

"Roxas? Ven questioned looking out at the still dark morning sky. "Why did you slap my face? What are you even doing up?" Roxas ignored him and hopped off the bed and ran back to his. Roxas climbed back into his and leaned over Sora.

Ven tiredly climbed out of bed and walked slowly to the other bed. He sat down on the bed next to the distressed Roxas and looked at the still sleeping Sora. Nothing about him had changed since they brought him home.

"What's wrong Roxas?" Ven questioned.

"Sora's head hurts." Roxas whispered with a worried tone.

"It probably does, but we won't know till he wakes up." Ven explained. Roxas had been overly concerned over Sora ever since the 'incident'.

"But he is waking up." Roxas stated. Just as he finished his sentence, Sora's face scrunched up in pain and a soft whine was heard. Ven's eyes widened in slight surprise. He quickly stood up from the bed and rushed out the bedroom door. He didn't have to tell Roxas to watch Sora because he would do it anyway.

Ven raced down the hall to his mother's bedroom and loudly slammed open the door, giving her a rude awakening. Their mother tiredly sat up in bed and glared at Ven who was still standing at the doorway. She was about to yell at him for being so loud and ask him what he was doing, but she was interrupted before she could start.

"Sora's waking up!" He shouted before running off to the guest rooms to wake Terra and Aqua in the same manner, but was sure not to disturb the sleeping princesses. For their own safety and comfort, they had also stayed at their house.

* * *

Sora didn't know why his head hurt so much, every time he moved his eye under his still closed eyelids, a new sting of pain would come. And the ringing, the annoying ringing just wouldn't go away!

Sora struggled painfully to open his eyes, but they felt so heavy and trying to hard made his head hurt more. He whined achingly.

_'Roxas?' _He called again. He could tell that Roxas was close, but he wasn't responding.

_'I'm right here.'_ He finally answered. Sora tried to open his eyes again, but it was just too hard. He felt Roxas come closer to him just as loud voices suddenly invaded his ring infested hearing.

"Sora." He heard their mother whisper. He felt someone else sit on the bed. He tried to open his eyes again and succeed, but they immediately shut again. Frustrated, he very weakly brought his hands to his eyes and began rubbing them.

"Don't do that sweety." Their mother cooed as she took his hands from his face. "Ven, go get that pain reliever." She instructed. Foot steps were heard as Sora tired prying open his eyes again, this time being much easier. Through half closed eyes, he stared at the ceiling. Everything was very bright and made his eyes water.

"Aqua, could you turn off the lights? His eyes are sensitive right now." Their mother directed. Aqua simply nodded and complied. Now not as bright, Sora opened his eyes a little wider, but he still had a bit of a hard time keeping them opened.

He heard footsteps enter the room and attempted to turn his head and see, but winced when his head pounded sorely. Wondering why his head hurt in the first place, he brought up a hand to his head and met with what felt like bandages.

Confused, he turned his head slowly, this time just in time to see Venny hand their mom a bottle and a glass of water.

_'I don't want any medicine.'_ Sora complained.

_'But your head won't hurt anymore when you take it.'_ Roxas insisted. Sora reached up to his head again and touched the bandages.

_'Roxas?'_

_'Yeah?'_

_'Why do I have band-aids on my head?'_ Sora asked quizzically. Roxas didn't answer and just stared at him with a strange expression. Not getting an immediate answer, Sora aimed to turn his head and look at him, but it was too painful.

Neither noticed Terra and Aqua were studying them intensely; they finally knew exactly what Ven was talking about. The boys were definitely having a conversation no one but them could hear.

"Alright, Sora." Their mother said as she popped the top off the medicine bottle. "You just need to take this and you'll feel all better." She got out two pink chewable tablets and replaced the lid on the medicine. "You three, can you gently sit Sora up. I don't think he has the strength to do it himself, and he needs to drink this water and eat something." She said as she got off the bed to get out of their way. She felt a little too nervous to do it herself and could accidentally hurt him.

"Sure." Aqua answered. "We can prop him up on pillows." She grabbed the pillow that previously separated the sleeping boys and Roxas's pillow before she laid it against the wall. Already knowing what she was doing, Terra grabbed the pillow from Sora's bed and tossed it to Ven, who handed it to Aqua.

"Think that's enough? We can get some off the couch." Ven suggested.

" Nope. I think that's good." She answered. She got on the bed with her hands and knees and looked at Sora apologetically. "Sora, we're going to sit you up and it might hurt. Okay?" Not waiting for an answer, she turned back to Terra and gave a short nod.

For more space, Terra picked Roxas up under his arms and put him on the ground so he could also have access to Sora. Slowly and carefully, they both maneuvered Sora so he was sitting up. Everyone would wince regretfully every time Sora would sob softly during the move. Eventually, they were able to get Sora sitting up in a comfortable position. Their mother sat back down on the bed when Terra and Aqua moved away and helped him drink some water.

When he was finished drinking some, she made to give him the chewable tablets, but he kept his lips firmly shut and wouldn't open his mouth. She narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Sora, if you don't open your mouth, you are going to be in big trouble, mister." She threatened. Sora loosened his lips a little bit, but still kept then tightly shut.

_'I don't want any medicine.'_ He whined internally. Roxas sighed.

"He said he doesn't want any medicine." Roxas repeated out loud. Everyone in the room turned to him, like they were expecting more. "T-that's all he said." Roxas stuttered. Their mother turned her glare back to Sora with full force, causing him to gulp, however painfully.

"Open. Your. Mouth." She said menacingly. Even the people she didn't direct her ire towards cringed slightly in fear. Sora slowly and unwillingly opened his mouth just enough for her to put the pills in. He closed his mouth and a look of disgust crossed his features. Their mother's eyes narrowed further when he didn't begin to chew and just held the tablets in his mouth.

"Chew." She demanded. Sora stuck out a lip to pout, but complied and chewed it warily. She watched him sternly to make sure he chewed and swallowed before giving him more water.

Ven chuckled at his silly behavior. He knew that Sora knew the medicine didn't taste nasty or anything, it was candy flavored; but he just didn't want it because it was medicine. If their mother had given it to him and told him it was candy, he would beg for more. He looked down at Roxas and noticed that he seemed to be happy, but he also looked confused and solemn.

"What's wrong Roxas?" Ven asked. Roxas looked away from their mother and Sora and looked at him in contemplation. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a voice that hadn't been heard in a while.

"Mommy." Sora said quietly. His voice was a bit hoarse and rough, but it was still his voice none the less. She smiled happily and took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"Yes?" She asked sweetly while she rubbed his leg for comfort. Sora reached up weakly and touched his bandages once again.

"Why do I have band-aids on my head?" He asked innocently. She tensed, but he took no notice. "And why was I sleeping? I thought we were going to play island with Venny today…?" He trailed off when he noticed everyone, save Roxas, was staring at him like he sprouted a new head. "What?" He asked flustered. After a moment, Ven slowly walked over to the bed and sat down next to his mom.

"Sora… do you remember anything?" Ven asked in a whisper.

"Remember what?" Sora asked impatiently. Ven was quiet again before continuing.

"Sora, what do you remember last?"

"Remember last?"

"Just tell me, what's the last thing you remember?" Ven explained.

"Um… well, Roxas woke me up again. Then we got ready and ate breakfast. And then we picked up Riku, Naminé, and Kairi…" He stated.

"Is that all?" Ven asked sadly.

"…Well, we were walking to the dock…" Sora said in concentration. He tried to remember more, but his headache began to intensify the more he tried. "…My head hurts." He said quietly.

* * *

"Boys, I don't think Terra likes that very much." Aqua informed amused.

"But why? We're making his hair more spiky and cool looking!" Sora replied. The boys each sat on one of Terra's shoulders and were currently digging their hands into his hair and ruffling it everywhere, making it extremely messy.

Not soon after Sora woke up, their mother called the hospital again and set up a check-up for the next day. Sora's headache was gone for the most part, but he still complained about the occasional ringing in his ears.

Restless from sitting in bed all day, Sora insisted he get up and run around, but he wasn't able to walk more than a few steps by himself before he collapsed from weakness. Ven suggested they go for a walk and Sora could ride on his shoulders, but Sora wanted to ride Terra's shoulders because he had a 'better view'. Terra let Roxas ride since carrying both of them wasn't a problem. Kairi and Naminé went along, but they were content with just holding Aqua's hands.

Along the walk, they met with Riku who was walking around the island full of boredom. Terra, Aqua, and Ven could tell he had been worried about Sora. He kept asking questions and making sure he was alright, though he tried to hide it all with insults on how stupid he was for bumping his head; Riku hadn't been told of the events for Sora's injuries.

"It won't stay though…" Roxas said sadly with a pout.

"That's because you don't have any gel." Kairi explained. "Gel makes hair stick up!"

"... Do you wear gel Venny?" Riku asked blandly.

"Nope. My hair is naturally messy." He emphasized by running a hand through his hair, but it still stood up every which way. "But you know there are other things you can use as gel." He stated with a strange grin across his lips. Terra looked at him from the corner of his narrowed eyes while Sora and Roxas perked up with curiosity.

"Sometimes, when people don't have any gel when the need it, they use something else." He teased.

"What is it?" Sora asked in extreme interest. Ven grinned further and eyed Terra in mirth.

"Some people use spit to hold up their hair." He finished. Terra's eyes widened and Aqua chewed on her lip to hide her amusement.

"That's a great idea!" They shouted in unison, then proceeded to spit into their hands.

"W-wait, don't put..." Terra decided not to resist further, seeing they had already put their spit in his hair and were ruffling it some more. He cringed in disgust and turned his full glare on Ven, who was currently laughing like there was no tomorrow. He also glared at Aqua, who no matter how hard she tried to hide it, was red in the face with laughter.

"Ventus." Terra said threateningly as he returned his hard eyes to his snickering form. "Just you wait, Ventus." He implied as he turned back to look down the street. The boys on his shoulders were completely oblivious to his ire.

"You guys... that was gross." Kairi complained.

"No it wasn't. They were just making Terra's hair better." Riku defended.

"With spit?" Naminé countered. In response, Riku just shrugged and then stopped abruptly. The others also stopped and looked at him curiously.

"Hey, can we go play on play island?" He asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea Riku. Sora isn't ready to start playing around just yet. And I don't think Roxas wants to go without him. The girls can go..." Ven said taking a glance at them, but they shook their heads in denial. He purposely ignored the pouts forming on the twins faces.

"Venny, please! I won't run around." Sora tried.

"Sora, you should listen to your brother. You can't even take three steps by yourself without falling down; let alone running around or playing at all." Terra chided. Sora poked out his lip and looked straight ahead.

"He may not be able to play around, but you can still take him, right?" Aqua suggested. Ven gave a hesitant look, but Sora looked hopeful. "As long as you don't try to run or play, there's no harm in going."

"Pleaseee." Sora and Roxas whined.

"Fine." Ven half sighed. Terra didn't mind either way. He could simply take the opportunity to wash the spit out of his hair when the twins weren't looking. He smiled when they both cheered on his shoulders, though made sure to hold Sora more tightly so he wouldn't fall.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Sora cheered as he limply kicked his legs.

"We'll see you guys when you get home." Aqua commented as they began to walk off.

"You're not coming Aqua?" Ven asked.

"Well..." She trailed off, taking a quick glance at the girls that were holding her hands; Ven understood her reasoning immediately. "The girls wanted to get home, so I thought I would too." She finished. The kids probably didn't know she meant to be with the girls in-case something happened.

"Got it." Terra replied as he turned towards the dock and continued walking with the rest if the boys.

* * *

"Sora, we agreed before we got here that you wouldn't play. Didn't we?" Ven scolded.

"But I'm not playing! I just want to try and walk by myself!" Sora argued as he slapped Ven's hands away again. Ven scowled at him.

Sora was stubbornly sitting on the dock attempting to stand on his own once again, but his legs trembled dangerously.

"Sora." Ven stated sternly.

"No." Sora denied as he used his hands to support himself as he stood up from the ground. Once he gained his footing, he huffed triumphantly and looked prideful, even though his knees were shaking like wet noodles. Ven sighed and started to walk off the dock leaving Roxas and Sora behind. Offended, Sora attempted to walk forward, but his legs suddenly felt like jello.

Intent on keeping him from falling, Roxas reached out a hand to help, but Sora also slapped away his hand as he regained his footing.

_'I got it Roxas. I can walk by myself.'_ He declared proudly. Roxas gave him a skeptical look as he rubbed his hand softly.

_'Sora, you shouldn't walk around yet. You were really hurt and you could get hurt again.' _Roxas explained. Sora glowered at him.

_'Well, no one will tell me how I got hurt anyway, so I don't care.'_ He insisted. No one would tell him why he had been sleeping so long or why his head hurt and had band-aids. He wanted to know!

_'… I can't tell you.'_ Roxas tried after a mental silence.

_'No, you don't want to tell me so you guys can keep all the secrets to yourself!'_ Sora complained.

_'That's not true!'_ Roxas started, but before he could continue, Sora began to shakily walk off the dock. Crossing his arms in annoyance, Roxas followed after him.

As Roxas got closer to approaching Ven, who was waiting at the end of the dock, he took a quick glace at the beach to see Terra and Riku both gazing out into the sea.

_'Look Sora. Terra looks at the water for no reason like Riku does.' _Roxas commented. Sora turned to look at them, but tripped over his own feet. Ven caught him before he hit the ground.

"See Sora, what did I tell you?" Ven sighed as he picked up Sora. Ignoring Ven's nagging, Sora looked over to Terra and Riku still standing at the beach. They looked like they were talking now.

"Hey Venny, what are Terra and Riku talking about?" Sora asked curiously. Ven also turned to look at them talking on the beach.

"Well... whatever they're talking about is probably private." Ven had a pretty good idea of what Terra was planning to do and didn't want to interrupt. The twins were obviously interested in what they were doing, so he quickly thought up something to distract them.

"How about we go look at your secret clubhouse, but this time, no secret handshakes." Ven suggested. If Sora tried to stop his feet correctly four times, they would be there all day. Surprisingly, they agreed.

* * *

_"Hey Aqua..."_

_"Hm?" Was her only response as she turned around to face Ven._

_"What are stars? And what is light?"_

_"Hmm... stars are-"_

_"Each star is its own world." A voice suddenly said behind them. Ven and Aqua turned around to see Terra standing there behind them._

_"Terra." Aqua acknowledged with a humorous tone._

_"There are so many worlds out there that we don't even know." He continued. "Light is what's emitted from the heart of those worlds and shines upon us, I guess." He finished._

_"What does that mean?" Ven asked with confusion._

_"In short Ven, it's something like you." Ven stood up from the ground and walked to stand in front of Terra._

_"What's that supposed to mean?" He wondered if he should take it as a compliment or an insult._

_"You'll find out someday." Terra replied teasingly._

_"But I want to know now." Ven complained._

_"You wouldn't understand yet." Terra countered._

_"Stop treating me like a kid!" Ven insisted. Eventually, Aqua began laughing at them._

_"What are you laughing at, Aqua?" Terra questioned. She continued to laugh a bit before she spoke._

_"It's just," She paused to laugh a bit more, making Terra and Ven raise an eyebrow at her. "You guys act just like brothers!" She concluded with more laughter. Ven and Terra glanced at eat other, before Ven snorted and looked away._

_"I don't need another brother. I have two already." He half joked._

_"Well, I don't want a brother. I might develop a brother complex like Ven's." Terra countered. _

_"Hey! I don't have a brother complex!" Ven shouted, but it was unheard under Terra and Aqua's laughter. Unable to hold his own laughter, he joined them._

--..--..--..--

_For a while, they all sat under the stars watching them twinkle in a comfortable silence._

_"That's right." Aqua suddenly declared. Terra and Ven watched as she stood up and walked to stand behind them. "Soon, Terra and I are going to take the exam to become masters." She said as she dug into her pockets._

_"So I made good luck charms!" She announced as she suddenly brought out three different colored star shaped ornaments. One was green, one was yellow, and the last was blue. Terra and Ven stood up just in time to catch them as she tossed the yellow one to Terra and the green one to Ven. _

_"I get one too?" Ven asked after barely catching it by the string._

_"Of course! We all match!" She said as she walked a little closer to them and held out her blue one. Following her lead, Terra and Ven also held theirs out._

_"It's said that somewhere out there, there's a tree that bears star shaped fruit," She explained. "It's said that it has the power to bind people together." She walked away from them, but still held out her charm to admire it. "And if you make a seashell charm of it, your destinies will become intertwined forever through eternity."_

_She turned around to face them before continuing. "Well, I couldn't make the real thing, so I just made something like it." She finished._

_"That's rather feminine of you." Terra joked, causing Aqua to narrow her eyes dangerously._

_"What's that supposed to mean?" She accused. Before Terra was able to respond, he was interrupted by a slightly serious Ven._

_"You know, there's a similar legend on my island. If two people share a Paopu fruit, their destinies become intertwined forever. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what. And if someone makes a charm of Thalassa shells, they are insured a safe journey and return home." Ven said, contemplatively. "I didn't really believe at first because the person who told me is... known to be a very good liar. But if you've heard of it, Aqua, it might be true, right?"_

_"Paopu fruit, huh? Well, it can't just be a coincidence that the legends sound so similar." She reassured with a nod, but she grew confused when Ven suddenly looked downcast._

_"...Do you think it needs to be the real thing for it to work?" He asked. Paopu fruit was almost an abundance on Destiny Islands, but he couldn't just go home and get them. He wasn't even sure if Master Eraqus was going to let him go home for the twins' birthday, let alone get some 'legendary fruit'._

_"Hmm... I don't know yet, but I put some magic in them!" She explained as she walked back closer to them._

_"What kind?" Ven asked in surprise. Aqua brought her blue charm to eye level before raising it into the air. She gazed at it happily and smiled._

_"The binding kind!"_

* * *

Terra and Riku both stood on the beach gazing out at the sea. Neither one spoke, but the silence was comfortable and far from awkward.

Terra continued to stare out into the ocean, but looked down when he felt something hit his foot. He looked down curiously and met with a yellow star shaped fruit. In realization, he picked it up and took out his charm in comparison.

_'Looks like Ven was right... I do wonder if the legend is true...'_ Terra thought absently as he threw the fruit back into the water.

"Hey, Terra?" Riku questioned from beside him.

"Hmm?"

"... Are you and Aqua really from a different world?" Terra glanced at him oddly before responding.

"Why do you ask?" Riku was quiet for a moment before he completely turned to him.

"No one lives on this island, and I've never seen you around before. My dad said Ven had to go far away for a while, but the island isn't that big, so how far could he really go?" Riku explained. "Their mom said Ven brought two friends, so you guys had to have come from far away. And Roxas said he, Sora, Kairi, and Naminé are going there, too."

"Really?" Terra said with a small laugh. He wondered a bit if Riku was feeling a bit left out. "You sound like you really want to leave the islands." He didn't see why though, he would live on a small island paradise any day. Riku paused again and looked back out towards the sea.

"A long time ago, there was someone who left the islands too." Riku said.

"Oh?" Terra acknowledged. He turned his head to look at Riku, but flinched and took a hesitant step backwards from the random man standing beside him. The man had medium length silver hair and his clothes were colored black. Confused, Terra squinted his eyes to observe the strange man, but he suddenly faded into a teenage boy with bluish silver hair.

Still baffled, Terra simply stared as the teenager slowly turned to face him. He had the same aquamarine blue eyes Riku had. Determining it was a hallucination, Terra blinked hard and open his eyes to meet Riku staring at him with respect and with the same aquamarine blue eyes. The man and the teenager previously standing where Riku was were no where in sight.

"How do you guys get here anyway? A big boat or something?" He continued.

"...Why do you want to go to other worlds?" Terra asked after a moment. Again, Riku looked out at the water before answering.

"I... want to get stronger. Like the guy who left the island a long time ago... like Ven. If I leave this place, I feel like I can get stronger too." He finished.

"Why do you want to get stronger?"

"So I can protect what's important to me." Riku remarked as he turned to Terra with a smile. "Like my friends and everyone else." For a moment, they were both quiet and Terra swiftly nodded his head in approval.

"You know, there's a big world out there beyond this small one." Terra explained. He walked closer to Riku and summoned his Keyblade. He expected Riku to be a bit surprised, but he wasn't.

_'Maybe Roxas and Sora already told him about Keyblades.'_ He reasoned. Terra kneeled down in front of Riku and held the key so that the hilt was in front of him.

"Try grabbing this key." He instructed. "If you have the ability, you will be able to leave this world as a Keyblade Master and even travel to where we're from. When that happens, I'll teach you how wide the world really is and how to protect what you hold dear."

Complying, Riku slowly reached out his hand and grabbed the handle. From what Riku could tell, nothing was happening, but Terra's soft smile told him differently.

"Venny! Why do we always have to leave when the keyhole thingie comes back?" Terra and Riku turned to see Ven dragging a half reluctant Roxas with one hand from the cave, and in the other, a dazed looking Sora whose eyes were fixated behind him, still staring at the cave entrance. Terra found his stare a bit strange, but assumed that he must be tired and dazed.

"I already told you that Sora has a doctor's appointment tomorrow. We all need to get home and rest." Ven instructed.

Riku turned to watch them as Terra un-summoned his Keyblade.

"Let's just keep this a secret between the two of us for now, okay?" Terra verified. "Or else the magic spell I cast on you will be broken."

"Ok." Riku answered. Terra let out another short laugh as he ruffled Riku's hair.

Riku ran up a bit to meet up with Sora and Roxas who had long gotten away from Ven. Sora walked a bit more slowly and seemed to wobble, but at least he could walk now.

"Hey Riku, what were you and Terra talking about?" Roxas questioned.

"Oh... just something." He said as he casually put his hands behind his head. Ven and Terra watched the scene with amusement.

"What? What's 'something' supposed to mean?" Sora stated.

"It's a secret." Riku replied.

"No fair. Tell us!" They demanded in unison.

"I said it's a secret so I can't tell anyone." He repeated.

"We won't tell anyone. So tell us!" Roxas tried.

"Nope." He said simply. They continued to bicker for a while as Ven and Terra watched.

"Already got a student and you haven't even passed the Master exam yet." Ven joked as he shook his head.

"Why not give him the opportunity to leave someday? All his friends are going somewhere he can't." Terra reasoned. Ven simply nodded in agreement, but then looked thoughtful.

"Hey Terra.... to test someone and give them the ability to wield a Keyblade, all you have to do is let them touch yours, right?" Terra looked at Ven and nodded.

"Then... didn't I do that to Roxas and Sora?" Terra looked calculating, before relying.

"I guess you did. But you have to be either a Master or really close to becoming one to give someone the ability to wield a Keyblade." Ven let out a relieved sigh, much to Terra's confusion. "You don't want your brothers to have Keyblades?" Ven whipped his head around and furrowed his brows.

"Are you crazy? Those two are monsters. Twins+Keyblade(dangerous weapon)+hyper=bad combination." Though he tried to contain it, Terra burst out in laughter and couldn't help but agree.

* * *

"Sora! What did I tell you about running? You're barely even able to walk."

"But mommy." Sora whined, "I can walk just fine." Just as he finished his sentence, he nearly tripped over his own feet but caught himself. He stood up straight and kept walking while laughing nervously as his mother glared daggers in the back of his head.

Sora, Roxas, Ven, and their mother were all walking home from Sora's hospital visit. Their mother expressed her worry about Sora's memory loss, but was told many concussion victims often don't remember the events leading to their accident. The doctor also commented that his concussion wasn't as severe as they originally determined and his recovery time was cut down to at least three months, if that.

Their mother sighed in half relief and half worry as she watched Sora and Roxas walking a little bit ahead of her and Ven.

"That boy never listens to anything." She complained with a huff.

"He does listen, just not all the time." Ven explained.

"No, he doesn't listen at all. Roxas, on the other hand, he cleans his room on time, eats his vegetables, and follows my rules. They're like complete opposites when it comes to listening to me." She replied. Not even a moment later, Roxas suddenly smacked Sora on his head.

"ROXAS! What do you think you're doing?!" She yelled from behind. He visibly jolted and turned around with wide fearful eyes.

"But Sora won't stop asking me questions! He's too noisy!" Roxas tried.

"I told you that Sora is very fragile right now and you can't play around like that right now!"

"S-sorry." He stuttered and turned back around. Their mother didn't see Sora's big smile and Roxas's deadly glare aimed at him.

"…You were saying?" Ven laughed. At first, his mother frowned, but then adopted a small smile and looked at him with a suspiciously sweet expression.

"Do you like laughing Venny?" She questioned. Ven looked at her oddly and opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when he realized her plan. He backed away from her slightly and struggled to keep his 'secret' hidden from his ever-searching siblings.

"M-mom, I didn't mean it! I was just kidding around." He clarified. She simply nodded her head in an 'I thought so' manner and turned forward. They all walked on quietly for a couple of minutes for Sora stopped without warning; Even Roxas was confused at Sora's behavior for a moment.

Worried, Ven and their mother quickly walked closer to them. As they got closer, Ven could see Sora's visibly shaken expression as Roxas was looking around as if being overly cautious.

"What's wrong?" Ven asked as he finally reached them and squatted down in an attempt to meet their eyes, but both seemed too focused on the area around them.

"... Someone bad is looking at us..." Sora answered.

"Someone bad?" Ven repeated looking at Roxas for his answer.

"It feels weird..." Roxas trailed off as both he and Sora both concentrated on a particularly strange dark alley; too dark considering is was only midday. With suspicion, Ven hastily stood up and observed the dark alley.

Realization struck him when he felt it too; His eyes were on them. It was the look he had given him when they first met so he could become a Keyblade Wielder; Master Xehanort was probably analyzing their hearts.

Quickly thinking, Ven summoned his Keyblade and ran towards the dark alley intent on disrupting his view. As he approached, the darkness quickly faded until it was eventually gone. He stopped in front of the now seemingly normal alleyway with a small amount of worry.

He looked over his shoulder to his mother, who was giving Sora and Roxas a tight hug. Though she probably didn't know exactly what was happening, she knew whatever it was was bad and dangerous.

_'I guess we'll have to leave sooner than planned.'_ Ven thought sadly.

* * *

Vanitas was reclined on the wall located next to a large window with a vast view of a large forest and the distant roofs of buildings. He turned his head slightly to see six children making their way to the front gate. They came every so often to explore and 'find ghosts'.

Mater Xehanort had told him countless times to leave them be, but he wasn't here. Besides, it wasn't like they were important, they were just a bunch of little kids. The world wouldn't even notice they were gone.

"Vanitas, do not kill them." A voice suddenly announced. Vanitas turned his attention away from the window to the newly summoned dark portal on the wall to the right of him. Not even a moment later, Xehanort walked out casually and slowly approached the window. Just as he came into view from the outside, one of the children pointed to him in excitement, but the others ran back towards the forest in fear, most likely.

"Those curious children will be playing a minor role in my plans." Xehanort continued.

"So, I'm guessing that means you found out something." Vanitas stated in boredom. Xehanort stared out of the window for a few minutes before turning his head slightly towards Vanitas with a small smirk.

"It seems it is best not to get excited over a first discovery." With that said, Xehanort walked a few paces away from the window. "As you know Vanitas, hearts are only known to be brighter, or darker. Not larger." He continued. "I had originally assumed Ventus was the one I needed because his heart, if only a little, was larger than normal. That is an important trait of the first requirement."

"Your point?" Vanitas replied. He wasn't one for long speeches, unless he was giving them, of course.

"Sora and Roxas hearts make Ventus's heart pale in comparison." He paused and turned to face Vanitas. "I've taken many unnecessary precautions and steps." He said with amusement. "Everything is much simpler now. And, the sooner, the better." He finished.

* * *

_'Roxas! Why can't you tell me?!'_ Sora pouted internally and externally, though the words were only to be heard by Roxas.

_'I just can't tell you!'_ Roxas insisted again. Both were standing in front of their house with Naminé and Kairi waiting to leave. After the strange incident involving the dark alley and the weird stares, Venny informed them that they would be leaving to another world.

Roxas was initially excited, though confused. But Sora was upset and angry that 'everyone kept keeping secrets from him'. Sora had been asking Roxas yesterday what happened occasionally, but today he was asking non-stop, much to Roxas's annoyance. He resisted the urge to slap him again though; he would get in trouble.

_'Yes you can! I want to know!'_ Sora whined.

_'You don't need to know! You might remember and get hurt.'_ Roxas replied.

_'Remember what?'_ Sora asked, hiding his surprise. Roxas never really talked about his memory till now. Roxas was about to accidentally spill everything, but quickly stopped himself.

_'How you fell and hit your head.'_ He answered. Sora was quiet for a moment, but soon turned his full glare on Roxas.

_'You're lying. I want to know what really happened.'_ He denied. Roxas took to glaring straight ahead and let out a disgruntled huff.

_'No.'_ He said simply.

"Hey Naminé, what do you think they're talking about?" Kairi whispered as they watched the brothers having an internal argument. Naminé shrugged and turned her head when the door suddenly opened. The boys also turned their head to the door, but unknowingly held their glares.

Ven took a step out the door and observed Kairi and Naminé looking at him curiously, but Sora and Roxas were glaring at him full force. He simply raised an eyebrow as Terra walked out and stood beside him.

"... What did you do to make them so mad at you, Ven?" He asked. Ven shrugged and just gazed at them with confusion.

"What are you guys doing? You're blocking the doorway." Aqua complained as she lightly pushed them forward so she and their mother could step out.

Their mother squatted down and beckoned for the twins to come closer. They dropped their glares and quickly ran up to their mom. She hugged them both tightly for a moment before she pulled away and looked at them longingly, but still stern.

"I want you boys to listen to anything your brother or Terra and Aqua tell you, okay? It's very important. So you have to be good." She said. They both nodded before she hugged them tightly again. She let the boys go and then summoned for the girls to come. She also gave them a hug, though not as tightly as her sons.

"Your aunt and uncle are going to miss you girls. I would tell you to be good, but I already know you will." She said with a smile. She then stood up and pulled Ven into a hug before he even realized what was happening.

"Now Venny, I want you to be nice and be a good boy for Terra and Aqua." She teased and squeezed him tightly.

"Mom, stop it! You're embarrassing me!" Ven complained as everyone's laughter reached his ears.

"See, why can't you be more like Sora and Roxas? They let me squeeze them however much I want." As she spoke, she slowly reached her fingers toward Ven's ears. "You think you're so grown up, don't you." She whispered mischievously. Noticing her movements, Ven quickly wrapped her in a hug in a position where she couldn't reach his ears.

"I was just kidding!" He said quickly and laughed nervously. "Love you mom!" He said as he pulled away and took some steps away from her to prevent her from tickling him. A sweet smile was plastered on her face, though her eyes were glaring at him. He would be darned if she revealed his ticklish spot, not only in-front of the twins, but in front of Terra and Aqua too. He would never live it down.

"It's probably about time for us to get going." Aqua announced. She didn't want to leave so soon, but from what Ven had told her about Master Xehanort returning yesterday, time was of the essence.

"I guess so." Their mother stated sadly as she looked over all of them. She then turned to Terra and smiled. "You'll get them there safely, right?" She said, turning to Aqua. Terra and Aqua smiled and nodded.

* * *

They were all walking through town towards the dock; all of them were extremely on edge. Not soon after they left the house, a terrible sense of foreboding washed over them all.

Anyone watching them walk wouldn't be able to tell, but Terra, Aqua, and Ven were all tense and wary. The kids seemed skittish and even Kairi and Naminé walked as close as Roxas and Sora normally did. Sora and Roxas would take the occasional glance down normal looking alleys for anything they felt was suspicious. Even though they didn't really know what they were looking for, they just had to look.

They were not even ten minutes from the shore before Terra suddenly called for all of them to halt. It was strangely quiet, even with people casually walking around and the usual town ambiance, but Terra could tell something was wrong. They stood impatient and nervous for what felt like forever. Terra visibly relaxed and was about to announce it was okay to continue forward, but a building suddenly exploded not to far from them.

For at least ten minutes, the only thing visible was dust, and the only sound that could be heard was the screams of confused citizens. Disoriented, Ven stood up with a grunt and squinted his eyes to peer through the dust and debris.

Though he could hear the distant yelling and shouting, he could not see anything at all. Quickly thinking, Ven ran through the dust cloud in hopes his visibility would become clear; thankfully, he hopes came true. He ran out of the dust, choking a bit on the now clean air as he glanced around the area. Though the blast was strong, he expected to see at least Terra and Aqua still around the vicinity, but right now they weren't his main concern. If Terra and Aqua were blown away by that blast, he couldn't even imagine what happened to the kids.

"Sora! Roxas!" He called immediately. Getting no response, he jogged around the area. "Kairi! Naminé!" He continued. But still no answer. Almost in panic, he began to run in some random direction hoping they would be there, but stopped abruptly when Unversed suddenly appeared in his path.

Frustrated and confused, Ven summoned his Keyblade and easily dealt with the low level Unversed. He was about to begin running again, but more appeared in his path as if to keep him there. He gritted his teeth in irritation and got rid of them once more, yet more simply appeared in their place.

* * *

To say he was ashamed was just the tip of the iceberg. He supposed that explosion was unpredictable, but he could have at least shielded the children from it. No, he just got himself blown to who-knows-where.

Terra stood up painfully from the sandy path with panicking people running in every direction. He looked around the area trying to regain his sense of direction, but the screaming and all the dust around him interfered with his assessment.

Feeling a bit lost, Terra looked in the direction he thought he was blasted from, but stopped when he felt eyes on him. He slightly turned his head to see Master Xehanort grinning at him. Terra's eyes first widened in surprise, but immediately narrowed dangerously as he summoned his Keyblade and turned towards Xehanort completely.

"What are you doing here?" Terra questioned. Master Xehanort only continued to look at his with his yellow, calculating eyes.

"You must be Terra." He announced as he began to pace. "I heard great things about you."

"I don't care." Terra said quickly, not wanting to hear another word, but Xehanort continued.

"You have so much potential." Xehanort taunted. Gripping his Keyblade tighter, Terra resisted the urge to just charge at him; he wasn't sure if he could win against a Master, and definitely not Xehanort, of all people.

"What do you want with Ven? And why are you targeting the Princesses of Heart?" Terra questioned. Xehanort seemed intent on talking, so why not get some answers. In response, Xehanort chuckled darkly and stopped pacing.

"The Princesses of Heart are an important piece to completing my goal." He answered. It wasn't the straight answer Terra was looking for, much to his annoyance. "And Ven..." He continued as a smirk began to spread over his face once again, "It seems my interest in him was severely mistaken, though I suppose he is still quite valuable to my cause."

"What do you mean?" Terra persisted, becoming impatient.

"The ones I truly need are quite amazing." He said, carrying on as if he hadn't heard him. "Such... big powerful hearts they have." He declared cryptically. Terra's eyes widened considerably before he closed them tightly and gripped his Keyblade even harder, turning his knuckles white.

"Haven't you done enough already?!" He shouted. He was after the twins, no mistaking that. He opened his eyes and looked at Xehanort with all the anger he could muster. The smirk on Xehanort's face remained as he casually summoned his Keyblade.

"Let the test begin." He remarked.

* * *

Aqua was racing through the sand covered streets, dodging panicked citizens as she searched for the rest of the group. Unversed would appear at random in front of her, but they were easily dealt with by a single slice of her Keyblade. As she ran, she could sense a distinct dark presence located somewhere on the island, but she couldn't pinpoint it.

She was getting close to the beach and it seemed Unversed were more concentrated there. Something had to be there, right? She had finally cleared her path of Unversed and was about to continued running, but stopped in her tracks when a shrill cry disrupted her concentration. She turned to see that some Unversed had cornered some people against the wall and though they were throwing everything they could find at them, the Unversed continued to advance.

Releasing a sound of frustration, she took one last glance in the direction of the beach before she turned around to help the people.

* * *

Sora and Roxas ran desperately between houses and buildings as Unversed followed them closely from behind. Though they had also been knocked back by the strong blast, they actually didn't land too far from Venny. Both woke in a nearby alley to see Venny fighting monsters, if only a few feet in front of them. Before they were even able to draw his attention, a bunch of monsters blocked the whole entrance to the alley and their view of their brother.

Though the monsters had made no move to actually hurt them, they walked towards them menacingly. Frightened, both boys took off and continued running as fast as they could, though Sora occasionally stumbled. Neither realized the only path the Unversed purposely left unblocked was the one leading to the beach. They also didn't notice they were being lead away from everyone else.

_'Roxas, I'm tired.'_ Sora complained. In actuality, he was exhausted and he was starting to trip over his feet more often.

_'We're almost to the beach.'_ Roxas informed._ 'Maybe the monsters can't swim, so all we have to do is get in water.'_ Sora was sure he wouldn't be able to swim as he was now, but it was worth a try. Not even a moment later, the beach came into view, giving both boys some hope, even if only a little.

They made it to the sandy beach and were heading straight for the water, but nearly fell when a dark portal appeared in front of them, halting their advance. Roxas watched in horror as the same guy who beat up Sora emerged from the portal. Before Sora could question who it was, Roxas suddenly grabbed his wrist and yanked him back in the direction they came. They only got so far before the monsters that were previously chasing them blocked their path back into town. Roxas skidded to a stop, causing Sora to bump into him roughly.

Afraid, Roxas looked back and forth between the slowly approaching armored man and the monsters currently blocking their path.

_'Roxas? Who is that?' _Sora asked mentally. He had this insistent nagging in his head that wouldn't go away every time he even glanced at the man. Whoever he was, Sora had a really bad feeling about him. _'Roxas!'_ Sora called again as he looked at his brother. Roxas purposely ignored him as he watched the man approach. Sora also turned to look at the man again, but a sharp pain invaded his head as soon as he laid his eyes on him.

"How disappointing. It seems neither of you are happy to see me again." Vanitas spoke, causing Sora to flinch in surprise, but Roxas to flinch in fear. Roxas moved to stand in front of Sora, much to his confusion.

"Roxas, who is that?" Sora said out loud this time, trying hard not to look at the man again, in-case his head started to hurt again. Vanitas stopped walking towards them and seemed to study them.

"Oh? And it seems one of you doesn't even remember me." Vanitas said. By mistake, Sora looked up to him once again, but gasped when an even sharper pain struck his head, causing him to collapse to his knees and cradle his head.

"Sora?!" Roxas quickly turned and bent down to his brother worried and frightened. _'What's wrong?'_ is only answer was a whimper.

Curious to see if the last incident was a fluke, Vanitas once again summoned his Keyblade and approached the boys. If Roxas were the real deal, then stopping him would be no problem, but if he wasn't, then both boys would die. There was no point for them to live if he was a useless fake.

Hearing his approach, Roxas whipped his head around, eyes automatically shifting to the Keyblade gripped in his hand.

"No!" Roxas shouted as loud as he could. He stood up in front of Sora and outstretched his arms as he grimaced, waiting for the impending pain. Before Vanitas could even lift the blade, it froze in place once again, unmoving. After a couple of experimental tugs, Vanitas was satisfied and un-summoned his Keyblade as he approached them again.

"Leave us alone!" Roxas insisted as he took a small step backwards, making sure not to trip over Sora. If Vanitas had spoken just then, you would be able to tell he was smirking.

_'It hurts!'_ Sora cried internally while letting a few sobs escape from his mouth. Roxas hurriedly squatted back down, facing his brother. Sora's face was twisted in pain and his grip on his head tightened by each passing second.

_'Sora! What's wrong?'_ Roxas tried again. Instead of answering, Sora opened his eyes, focused on the approaching armored man with wide eyes. Sora's eyes shook as everything began to come back to him. This man had been the one to hurt him. He hurt him so badly. Sora squeezed his eyes shut and screamed painfully as unwanted visions of his beating and his nightmares made themselves known all at once. His head felt like it would explode.

_'Sora! Calm down!'_ Roxas yelped mentally. Some of Sora's visions were also invading his head, but he knew Sora's were much worse. Only a moment passed before Sora suddenly stopped screaming and collapsed to the ground, completely limp. Roxas wanted to call to his brother, but his mind reeled as he recovered from the invading visions and concentrating on anything made his head spin.

He didn't notice the dark shadow that was cast over them.

* * *

Ven still hadn't gotten very far in his search, considering every time he tried to go somewhere, Unversed blocked him. How many had he even gotten rid of now? Hundreds? Thousands? It was too easy. Way too easy Ven realized. He stopped his tirade with the new group of Unversed and just watched them; they weren't even moving to attack him. They were just standing there blocking his path.

_'...It's a diversion!'_ He realized. They weren't here to fight him, they were here to distract him, block him, and slow him down. He grunted from his own stupidity and looked around for an opening in the Unversed blockade. Building up his wits, Ven dashed through the nearest opening and continued running toward his currently unknown location. The Unversed were right one his heels, but he didn't slow or stop.

He as ran across town, he looked around frantically for anyone, unfortunately finding no one but still frightened and panicked citizens. As he passed by the beach, he heard what he thought was a child yelling. He thought it sounded like Roxas, but it could have been anyone with a similar voice, but he got the distinct feeling it wasn't just anyone.

The problem was, if he tried to turn in the direction of the beach now, the Unversed would be able to catch him and halt his search. Thinking up a plan, Ven instead turned the opposite direction and sped up before stopping abruptly and turned to face the fast approaching Unversed. He stood patiently as they came closer and timed his escape. They were a few feet away from him before he suddenly ran straight at them, then straight past them, heading directly for the beach. His plan was only able to confuse the Unversed for less than a second before they were right behind him again.

There were even more Unversed there, but he was able to either dodge them, or get rid of them with the slash of his blade. As he came closer to the beach, Roxas's screams for release were clear and easily identifiable. Worried, Ven sped up his pace.

Finally, the beach was in view, but that didn't give Ven any relief. He arrived to find a seemingly unconscious Sora over Vanitas's shoulder and Roxas being dragged by the wrist towards a dark portal.

"Stop!" Ven shouted desperately as he tried to pick up speed. Hearing his voice, Roxas temporarily stopped struggling and looked over hopefully at his big brother. Just as Roxas was about to call out to him, Vanitas suddenly jerked him backwards almost causing him to fall.

Keyblade already summoned, Ven ran straight for them, intent on protecting his brothers. Why was Vanitas trying to kidnap them? So they could get to him? The thought made Ven angrier as he charged.

Amused, Vanitas released a short laugh right before three large Unversed appeared in Ven's path. Screeching to a halt, Ven grunted in annoyance and attempted to pass up the new Unversed; but these Unversed actually fought back. Avoiding an attack, Ven jumped back, putting more distance between him and his brothers.

As Ven and the Unversed stood at a standstill, Ven looked past them to regard the situation. Roxas paid him no attention as he frantically tried to pry his small wrist from Vanitas's grip. It was obvious he had been crying because tears were still falling to his eyes. Sora was still unconscious over Vanitas's shoulder and showed no signs of waking soon. Ven allowed himself a small amount of relief seeing as they had no visible injuries. If Vanitas hadn't hurt them yet, he probably wouldn't for a while.

Regaining his composure, Ven took a deep breath and leveled Vanitas with a hard stare.

"Where are you taking them?" If it wasn't for the small amount of panic and worry that leaked into his tone, one would think he was perfectly calm. Roxas either didn't hear him, or ignored him, seeing as he didn't react to his voice. After a moment, Vanitas suddenly tightened his grip on Roxas, causing him to yelp painfully.

"What do you want with them?!" Ven shouted taking a hasty step forward. He didn't step any farther because the Unversed between him and his brothers also took a step forward. "What do you want with them?! If you're after me, then just leave them alone!" Ven tried.

"What makes you think we would need a weakling like you?" Vanitas taunted. As soon as he finished talking, he took a step back towards the portal. Ven took a precarious step forward, trying to close the distance between them, but the large Unversed also took a step towards him; any closer, they would be within striking range, but he didn't have time to be distracted by them.

"What would you want them for? They aren't anything special." Ven lied, hoping that encounter from yesterday was really just his nerves and Master Xehanort really wasn't there that time. Considering Vanitas was now laughing, he supposed his hopes were officially crushed. Master Xehanort knew about them. As Vanitas took another step backwards, Ven stepped forwards once more and looked over his brothers again. Though Roxas was still trying to yank his arm free, he was considerably more subdued and still paid him no heed; his attention was primarily focused on his trapped wrist and unconscious twin.

"My, my, Venny." He emphasized. "I would have never thought you would be such a liar. Bad one or not." He took another step backwards and watched in amusement as Ven hastily stepped forward while eying the blocking Unversed. "I'm sure you know just how special they are." He continued. "Then again, you probably don't, in fact, you don't know anything." He only needed to take a few more steps and he'd be in the portal. He was disappointed Ven hadn't tried to break away from the Unversed that blocked him yet. He hoped the twins wouldn't be such duds.

"I would love to keep chatting with you, but as you can see, I have a job to finish." Vanitas said as he turned to face the portal now only about three steps away. In one last desperate attempt to stop him, Ven suddenly raced forward, planning to run right between two of the large Unversed. He thought he would make it through in time, but began to fall apart when he noticed Vanitas already had one foot inside the portal; he wouldn't make it in time to save his brothers.

Just as he was about to give up, the Unversed that were blocking him essentially blew up behind him, knocking him forward and face first into the sand. He picked up his face to see Vanitas hastily jumping away from the portal as thunder struck where he was previously standing. The portal he was attempting to go through not even a moment ago vanished.

Vanitas landed a good distance away with Sora and Roxas, but was forced to jump away again when a Keyblade nearly impaled him. He was unable to hold on to Roxas tight enough, sending him tumbling a distance away.

Clicking his teeth in annoyance, Vanitas landed without a problem and immediately advanced towards the strangely writhing Roxas who lay not too far away. He stopped short when an evidently angry Aqua stepped in front of Roxas to block him.

"Well, well. If it isn't Aqua. I was beginning to think you were going to miss all the fun." Vanitas stated sarcastically. Her only response was to deepen her scowl and move into her battle stance.

"Return Sora and leave." Aqua commanded calmly, though she was actually seething.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Still missing a piece." He said simply, obviously referring to Roxas, who was slowly getting to his feet and seemed to have no intention of running away. Aqua couldn't keep Roxas from apparently going after Vanitas and try to get Sora back at the same time. Aqua looked over in Ven's direction. He seemed to be shell shocked.

"Ven!" Aqua called snapping Ven out of his daze. He eyes immediately trained on Roxas, who looked ready to sprint straight towards Vanitas.

Alarmed, Ven got to his feet and impulsively ran and grabbed his brother right before he took off towards Vanitas. To his bewilderment, Roxas began to struggle and shout violently like he was the enemy.

"Roxas! Calm down, It's just me! Hey!" Ven tried as he tightly held onto his brother. Roxas roughly pushed against him and tried miserably to get free. Although she was also confused by Roxas behavior, Aqua turned back to Vanitas and dashed forward, determined to get Sora from him.

Vanitas easily dodged her swing and landed swiftly a few feet away. "What was that? You weren't even close to hitting me." He barely finished his mocking before Aqua ran at him again and only narrowly missed. "Oh, I almost felt a breeze there." He said as he landed again. Aqua gritted her teeth and was about to run at him again, but was halted by his words.

"You know, you guys are helpless." He began. "Haven't you even noticed the Princesses are gone? Better yet, why isn't your friend Terra around helping you?" He informed. Brushing of the comment about Terra, Aqua readied herself to attack again.

"What did you do with the girls?!" She shouted as she raced forward. Ven gasped in realization as he hassled to hold down the still violently struggling Roxas.

"They were gone before this game of 'catch' even started." His voice held obvious mirth as he dodged another one of Aqua's attacks, much to her frustration. It was a mystery how Sora still hadn't awoken from all the commotion.

This time, Vanitas purposely landed a distance away. "All I need are these two brats sent back to where I'm supposed to be...right about now." Without warning, another dark portal appeared directly behind him. Aqua inhaled sharply as she rushed forward to stop him from escaping with Sora.

"No!" Roxas repeated frantically with his eyes fixated on Sora. The farther the man took Sora away, the more his heart hurt and the lonelier he became. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get any closer; it was cold being so far way.

Ven could only watch, horrified, as Vanitas took one step back and he was already halfway through the portal. It was like watching in slow motion as Vanitas lifted his other foot to take the final step towards the unknown. Time almost paused as Vanitas turned his head in his direction and said words that stung like ice right through his heart.

"You're still not strong enough." He said icily. He took the final step and disappeared along with his brother. Aqua arrived on the spot not even a second later with her hand still desperately outstretched intending to grab Sora before he could be taken; but she was too late. She didn't save him. And himself? He was too weak; he couldn't save anybody. All he could do was watch.

Roxas's wail of pain and sadness was silent to Ven's deaf ears.

* * *

Phew. I'm so tired. Been moving stuff all day.

_Rewind Please!_

Okay... so... Sora got kidnapped :D *brick'd* Hey, I told you I like seeing my fav characters in distress. So there he goes! :D *brick'd again*

Um... I don't think I have much to explain really.... Maybe next time!

Also, I've begun Destiny Island Adventures! Side Stories :D It contains scenes that never made it into a chapter for this, so check it out yeah?


	13. The Keys to Kingdom Hearts

**_A/N: _**Guess what everybody! 8D I'm late... again! You see, stuff likes to pelt me with snowballs sometimes and things just don't get done fast enough! D: But here it is! I'm sorry to say I'm going to try to possibly shorten chapters... if only a little. The last chapter took me FOREVER. Thank you again Crimson for some dialogue presented in this here chapter. XD

**ALSO**, there is a **HUGE Information Section** at the end of the chapter. Just in case you don't get something. XD

So.... enjoy the shortened chapter! Next chapter will probably be a bit longer... but we'll see. XD

(P.S. **NEW POLL**! IF, and I mean IF, the twins went exploring, which worlds would you want to see and have them come in contact with? 8D Choices are:

Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, The Aristocats, The Rescuers_, The Black Cauldron_, Aladdin, Lilo & Stitch, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. If the one you really want isn't up here. there's a possibity I already have something planned for it! :D Also, the result of the last poll is to write them out... So shall it be! But some scenes will be just written about instead of flashbacky)

Thanks for the help **AngelOfLostLight**(beta!) and **CrimsonDarkness 0013**(plot assistant!)!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too....

* * *

**The Keys to Kingdom Hearts**

The once quiet room was interrupted by a strange whooshing sound that came from a slowly forming dark portal. After it was completely formed, the dark corridor stood swirling for a few moments before Vanitas calmly walked out holding an unconscious Sora in his arms.

He walked to the center of the room and stood impatiently for Master Xehanort to show up. Vanitas disinterestedly looked down at the unconscious boy in his arms. Though he was slightly interested in the power the boy supposedly held, his appearance was annoying to say the least. With a smirk, Vanitas dropped him, making sure he would land on his face. Though clearly successful, he was disappointed that the boy only released a barely audible groan and remained unconscious.

"I wish you had not separated the boys, Vanitas." A voice suddenly echoed through the room. Vanitas inclined his head towards a quickly forming portal and Master Xehanort who swiftly emerged.

As Xehanort came to a stop, his eyes migrated from his apprentice to Sora; who was lying on the ground, unconscious. Xehanort sighed and shifted his eyes to Vanitas.

"It was not wise of you to only bring one of the boys here." He continued.

"What are you talking about, old man?" Vanitas said, slightly annoyed. Xehanort faintly glared at him before turning his back to him and walking to gaze out of the window once more.

"You could have damaged, or even broken their important bond due to the shock of separation." He explained as he turned back around. "Their bond must be strong and complete to fulfill..." Xehanort halted his speech when he realized Vanitas had yet to say anything to justify his actions; he was only quiet at times like these when he really didn't know what he was talking about. Xehanort hummed in realization and began to walk forward.

"That's right. I was explaining to you the requirements before you decided to run off without letting me finish."

"I do get excited when you send me on missions that involve physical force AND those Keyblade apprentices at the same time." He stated, as if Xehanort already didn't know. He stopped right beside where Sora lay.

"I'll explain it now, and you need to listen and understand. All of it is of great importance." He declared in all seriousness. "As you should know, because I have explained it before, there are four requirements one must obtain before they are able to unlock and control the power of Kingdom Hearts." Xehanort began to pace as he explained. "We already have the third, as you know, the possession of the Kingdom Key and the Inverse Kingdom Key. And, if you completed the other part of your assignment, we will have completed the second requirement. Obtain all seven of the Princesses of Heart." He finished, as he turned to Vanitas. "And I can assume that is how far I was before you ran off?" Not waiting for an answer Xehanort continued.

"Finding the second and the third is only of medium difficulty. They are not hard to find as long as you know what to look for. But even if you know exactly what you need to look for in the first and the fourth, finding them is still extremely difficult. Or, at least until one begins bringing together the princesses." He explained with a smirk. "It is nearly impossible to find them because they will appear to be normal people until the pure hearts of the princesses are gathered in one place. The more of them you have together, the more obvious and detectable they become.

"The first requirement will begin to awaken. In turn, fourth requirement will also begin to awaken, I will bet more slowly. A bond between their hearts will begin to form and separation for them will seem unbearable. Though there is no pain involved, it is like breaking a pair of glasses apart. If their bond is completely broken, neither will be able to function anymore." He paused before he gave a short chuckle and turned to face Vanitas again. "Tell me, Apprentice. What was Roxas's reaction when he was separated from his sibling?"

"...Kind of strange. A normal five year old twerp would've ran for their life in fear, but he tried to get away from Ven just so he could get to me and Sora. What was up with that?" Xehanort sighed and gave Vanitas a tired expression.

"It was most likely the special bond they share, not only as the first and the fourth, but also as siblings and the need to protect each other. It is only a natural reaction, but that is not something you would understand, is it?" Xehanort paused before speaking again. "Bring the boy closer." He instructed.

Vanitas grunted before he picked up the still unconscious Sora from the ground and walked to stand in-front of Xehanort, who was standing by the window. Xehanort promptly removed a hand from his back and laid it gently on Sora's chest as he closed his eyes in concentration. They stood there still and quiet for a couple of minutes before Xehanort pulled back his hand and eyed Vanitas wearily.

"You are very lucky Vanitas. You only just weakened his heart and their bond. But at least it will be better as to deal with him for now."

"You mean he won't freak out?" Vanitas simplified.

"Correct. Since the strength of their bond has decreased so dramatically, he won't be writhing in phantom pain since his brother is not here with him. Hopefully it will regain its strength once more, or all that I have worked for to open Kingdom Hearts will be ruined." Xehanort's eyes turned hard as he looked at Vanitas. "And you will be first to pay the price."

"...Yes Master, no aside the threats, I really don't care about how they feel. I thought you told me you only needed their hearts, so I could rip them right out and be done with it."

"I said no such thing. Their mental and physical condition are just as, if not more important than only their hearts."

"...What?" Vanitas questioned after a short silence.

"The first requirement, the one who holds a large heart, only to be topped with Kingdom Hearts itself, and whose heart can connect to anyone. The second, the Kingdom Key and the Inverse Kingdom Key. The third, all seven Princesses of Heart. And lastly, the fourth, the fated one who holds the ability to dual wield.

"Gathering the requirements is like gathering ingredients. You have to prepare them before you use them. Sora's vessel is needed to store the hearts of the princesses. And you need a body to wield a Keyblade, do you not?" He explained. "As they are now, they are only in their raw form. Their hearts are only one element in their complete being.

"And in-case you haven't already figured it out, the fourth requirement is the reason why I separated you and Ventus." He continued. "Not only are finding the first and the fourth difficult, it is even more difficult to have them at the same time. My research has told me it's a rare occurrence that they are born within the same lifespan." He said as he looked out the window at the forest. "In-fact, it has only been known to happen twice. I did not think I would be able to find the fourth after I found Ventus, who I assumed was the first. So I was going to use the alternative, but it seems it is no longer necessary, though I think I will keep it as my plan B. I doubt I will have as much trouble dealing with young, weak children, but it a good idea to have a back up plan.

"This... is all ridiculously complicated." Vanitas complained with an exaggerated sigh. A moment later, Sora shifted slightly in his arms, drawing their attention. Xehanort turned and reached out to take Sora from Vanitas before walking towards the door that led out of the room.

"Vanitas, you're next assignment is to find Roxas's exact location and report back to me." Master Xehanort ordered over his shoulder.

* * *

"Xehanort has changed his target from Ventus to Sora and Roxas. Apparently, he was already targeting the princesses before he discovered Ven." Terra explained in a subdued tone. He and Aqua were standing stiffly in-front of Master Eraqus about the situation and the events that took place only hours ago.

"Xehanort is still probably keeping Ven in mind, but right now he seems more concentrated on them. I tried to get more from him, but most of our conversation consisted of clashing blades." Terra finished. Eraqus simply nodded and turned to Aqua so she could explain her experience.

"When I arrived on the beach, I saw Vanitas, and he had Ven's brothers. I tried to stop him, I really did, but..." Aqua blinked away an incoming tear as she turned her head down "I was able to get Roxas away from him and Ven got him, but before I could get to Sora, Vanitas was able to escape through a dark corridor." She explained as she imagined the scene that had already played through her head hundreds of times over the past hour. "...I'm sorry." She concluded. They all stood quiet before Eraqus asked what had yet to be answered.

"Do you know a reason why Xehanort would have moved his focus to Ven's siblings?" He question calmly. Terra and Aqua glanced at each other before Terra cleared his throat.

"You should probably see for yourself and draw your own conclusion, Master." Terra replied. They were almost worried he wouldn't comply when he didn't answer after a couple of minutes, but both released a silent sigh as he nodded in agreement and followed them down the hallway.

They all walked calmly, but quickly towards Ven's room. The arrived at the door and Aqua gently knocked on the door before opening it.

Ven was sitting on his bed with Roxas sleeping in his arms on his lap. Taking in the scene, Aqua walked closer and sat next to him on the bed while Terra stood at the door frame. Ven looked up to the approaching Eraqus with eyes that were practically drowned in sadness.

Eraqus leaned down and rested a hand on Roxas's chest and removed it a moment later, though he didn't stand straight up or walk away. Eraqus gazed at the sleeping Roxas contemplatively before he spoke.

"...I know your own heart is strange Ventus, but your brother's is simply remarkable."

"Sora's heart is even larger than his." Terra announced aloud, causing Eraqus straightened up. "...While I was fighting with Xehanort, he commented on their large hearts. I think that's the reason he was after Ven too, because their hearts are larger than normal." Terra explained. Aqua pondered why he didn't mention it before when they were discussing the situation. She turned from Terra to Ven whose features were twisted in self-blame and concern, obvious by the tone in his eyes that seemed to be close to shedding tears. She immediately scooted closer and wrapped her arms on his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him.

"...Ven, it's not your fault. Even Master Eraqus couldn't see Xehanort or Vanitas suddenly do something unpredictable like this."

"It IS my fault. I basically lead them right to them." He said as he squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to keep the tears at bay. "I knew it was too good to be true... to return home without something bad coming up." He finished quietly.

"Ven, it wasn't your fault! Nothing is your fault. Even if you hadn't gone there, Master Xehanort would have found his way there eventually because the princesses were there. Your home could have been destroyed if you hadn't been there to protect i-"

"I didn't 'protect' anything!" He suddenly yelled, cutting Terra off. "What did it protect? The princesses? No! I didn't! My brother? No, they TOOK HIM!" Ven paused to catch his breath and continued on with a shaky tone. "I'm weak and useless. I practically let Vanitas walk off with Sora and all I did was watch! I can't protect anything!" Ven looked up at Terra with a few tears now adorning his face. Terra stepped forward and was about to argue back, but was interrupted before he started.

"That's enough!" Eraqus intervened. The room became deathly silent except for the occasional sniffle from Ven and the sound of movement as he wiped away his tears with the crook of his elbow. "Ventus, I have yet to hear your side of the recent events. I think now would be a good time for you to tell me, so we should leave your brother to rest quietly."

Ven immediately opened his mouth to protest, but Aqua gently covered his mouth and shook her head softly when he looked in her direction. She released his mouth and swiftly maneuvered Roxas from his lap and placed him on Ven's bed. As she settled Roxas into the bed, Terra walked further into the room and grabbed Ven by his arm and practically dragged him from the room, Aqua not far behind.

Eraqus gave the room a quick look over before he left the room as well. He was about to shut the door and lock it, but paused when he heard Roxas whisper 'Sora'. He peeked in one last time to check if he was sleeping. Finding he was, he shut the door tightly and made sure to lock the door from the inside and out.

* * *

_'Sora.'_ A voice whispered to him. Every time it called his name, his ears would ring louder and his head would pound harder. His head hurt so badly, and he didn't know exactly why. _'Sora!' _The voice urged.

"Roxas!" Sora shouted as he jolted up from the bed. He immediately grabbed his head in pain as it pounded like a hammer using a thumb as a drum. He groaned as he gave the room a quick glance, but panicked when he didn't recognize his surroundings. Ignoring the pain, Sora gave the room a thorough look and held back the feeling of tears. He was all alone.

Sora looked around frantically, but everything around him was darkness. He hesitantly reached out a hand in an attempt to grab something, if anything was there, but he found he couldn't even see his own hand. Freighted he pulled back his arm to his chest and slightly shifted on what he assumed was a bed.

"… Roxas?" Sora called quietly. When he got no answer, he carefully outstretched his hands on the bed's surface until he found the edge. "Venny?" He called again, but his only answer was silence. Breath quickening in panic, Sora anxiously climbed off the bed and his eyes darted wildly in the darkness as he clung to the bed's side for support.

"Roxas?" Sora called more desperately. After a moment of staring off in the darkness and hearing himself breathe, he released the bed and padded across what he thought was a wooden floor, tears threatening to fall. To afraid to walk far from the bed, he stopped abruptly. "Venny?" He cried. "Where are you?" he chocked.

"So, you have finally awakened." Startled, Sora yelped and ran opposite of the new mysterious voice, only to run face first into a wall. He ignored the new pain that rattled his brain as he turned his back to the wall and stared wide eyed at dark figure standing in front of him. Strangely, the room seemed brighter that before, but still fairly dark; at least he could see his hands. He took a quick glance about the room and noticed the bed he was on sat not to far from him, a small table, and chair also sat in the room.

As the man began to walk closer, Sora turned his attention back to him and tried to back further into the wall, to no avail. Sora eyed him critically and noticed he was an older man who was hunched over and had glowing yellow eyes. Unwillingly, visions from their first encounter on the island wracked his brain painfully.

"Y-you're that bad man from before." Sora said suddenly, making Xehanort stop his approach. "You came and fought Venny. And tried to take Kairi and Naminé away!" His knees began to quiver in fear as he also remembered Vanitas. Sora slid across the wall in attempt to get further from the man. "You're evil…" He finished in barely a whisper. Xehanort smirked and turned to approach him again, making Sora scoot faster along the wall, only to end up in a corner.

"No, no no, dear boy, not evil." Xehanort 'corrected' him with a smile. "I was merely trying to earn help from your big brother, but he was far to startled by my appearance." Xehanort looked straight into Sora's eyes, expecting him to look away as most did, but he didn't; Sora looked him straight in his eyes. Though the room was dark with only dim light, his eyes still held a strange, yet interesting glint to them. "He would not cooperate with a single and simple request, as I would have left him be afterward."

Xehanort came to a stop a few feet away from him as he let Sora study him. His eyes held a strange glow, even in the dark room. There was a unique light to them that captured his attention. Sora stared at him unblinking, as if giving his own eyes a test. Minutes ticked by before Sora suddenly blinked, causing the glint Xehanort noticed to all but disappear. Sora brought his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around him.

"...I want to go home." He stated quietly as a few tears escaped his eyes. He squeezed them shut as he wished with all his might that everything was a bad dream. He just wanted to go home with Roxas and Venny and make everything normal again. No bad dreams, no bad men, no dark scary rooms, and no being all alone and cold.

"I would gladly take you home to your family and your friends. Oh, but then you would leave the princesses all alone here. There would not be anyone to protect them, or to make them better..." Xehanort lied, but he easily caught Sora's attention by the mention of princess.

"Huh...?" Sora said before he sniffled and used his hands to wipe the tears from his face. "Kairi and Naminé are here too?" He asked before sniffling again. "Why are they here?" Feigning sadness, Xehanort twisted his face into false hopelessness.

"I say with a heavy heart they have fallen deathly ill. Oh, how my heart simply hurts seeing them in such torment when I see them, knowing _I_ cannot cure them. You see boy, that is why I brought them here; They are sick, though they do not look it. And that is why I brought _you_ here. You are the only one that can help them." He lied as he began to walk forward again, making Sora attempt to back further into the corner.

"I beg you, dear boy. If you do me this small favor, I shall put everything back the way it is. I'll take you to your brothers and your friends, all safely returned to the island and nothing bad will happen. Ever again." He finished, now smiling softly as he slightly bent down and offered an outstretched arm to the frightened Sora, who cringed at his closeness. Xehanort noticed now that the boy seemed to avoid eye contact, unlike before.

"Please..." Xehanort added, hoping the boy would listen and follow him willingly. Sora stared at his gloved hand and occasionally glanced up at him. His smile spread when Sora hesitantly reached forward and grasped his hand.

* * *

Sora noted the hallway was brighter than inside the darkroom he was in. He looked up at the small light fixtures on the ceiling as he was lead down the hall by his hand. As Sora studied the hall, he noticed the walls were probably once very elegant and grand, but now they were peeling and ancient looking. The wooden floors looked like were once well taken care of, and probably expensive, but now most creaked noisily and were misshapen from neglect.

_'Roxas?' _Sora called randomly. The man said he would return Roxas home too after he helped Kairi and Naminé, so where was he? Why didn't he answer? Sora's eyes scanned the hallway again for any signs of his brother, but of course, found nothing.

Sora turned his attention forward when the man suddenly stopped. The stood in-front of a large wooden door that looked just as old as the hallway. The man released his hand as he reached up and began to push the door. Sora looked up at him briefly, noticing the man was smiling. The bad feeling Sora got from the man increased, causing him to take a step back from the door, worried about what was on the other side. The man turned to him, his 'smile' now looking like a smirk.

_'Why is he smiling? Where are we going? I'm scared...but I have to help Kairi and Naminé...Right?' _Sora really wanted to believe what the man said, but everything about him felt bad. His whole body told him not to trust the man, especially his heart; But what if Kairi and Naminé really were sick and needed his help and his help only?

"What is wrong? Afraid of what's behind the door?" He taunted. The moment almost felt like déjà vu, but everything felt off because something was missing; or rather, someone. Sora cautiously stepped closer to the door as the man slowly opened it. Once the door was open enough, Sora peeked into the room suspiciously. The first thing he noticed was a lady laid on the floor near the door. But he then realized there were many people laid on the floor in a circle, including Kairi and Naminé.

"Naminé! Kairi!" He called as he bolted into the room and squatted down in the space between where they laid. "Open your eyes!" He said as he shook both of them, hoping they would come to.

"They won't wake up." The man said from behind him, causing Sora to jolt in surprise. Sora turned around to find the man standing next to a Keyblade that floated in the middle of the circle the girls were apart of. Sora's eyes glanced over what he counted as five girls, excluding Kairi and Naminé, and all were sleeping like Naminé and Kairi were.

"All will be well if you take this key right here." He explained, as he looked over to the floating blade. Sora observed the Keyblade was nothing like Venny's. The blade was pitch black with an almost blood red hilt and the teeth of the key made a mystical shaped heart. The uneasy feeling he had before increased again. He looked away from the blade, and to Kairi and Naminé once more.

"Once you take this key, the girls and all these other sick people will be all better. Everything will be better." he continued. Sora took another glace at the other girls who lay unconscious like Kairi and Naminé before standing up and turning to face the man.

"I-is that it? All I have to do is grab it and they will be all better and w-we can go home?" Sora verified.

"But of course. You trust me? Don't you?" The man asked. Sora only gave him another strange glance before he approached the Keyblade, stopping only inches away from it. Sora looked up at the man once more before tuning his attention to the blade and slowly lifted his arm to grab the handle. His hand was only centimeters away before he stopped short in surprise. He thought he heard familiar whispering.

_'Roxas?' _Sora called internally. A few moments passed, but no one answered. Sora deflated visibly and turned his attention back to the Keyblade, wanting to get it over with.

_'Sora!'_ A voice suddenly shouted. It was Roxas's voice. Sora inhaled sharply and pulled his hand away from the Keyblade, his eyes frantically searching the room for his brother.

"Roxas! Roxas is that you? Can you hear me?" Sora yelled internally and aloud in panic. He took a few steps away from the man and the Keyblade, causing the man to frown at his behavior.

"Remember...the princesses will need your help if they are ever to wake up." He reminded. "I promise you safe return to your brother, and you shall come back to him without regret..."

"...Regret?" Sora repeated, still highly anxious since Roxas hadn't answered once again. The man smiled warmly, though Sora didn't trust him anymore than he already did.

"You are the only one who can wake them up, like I have said before. No one but you can help them." Sora calmed down for a few minutes before he approached the Keyblade skeptically.

He squeezed his eyes shut, and outstretch his hand in a quick motion, grabbing the blades hilt. His eyes flew open immediately and he attempted to pull his hand away from the blade as his body suddenly felt cold as ice, yet as hot as a burning oven. He yelled in surprise and acute pain as he tried to pry his fingers from the Keyblade, but his fingers no longer willed to his command; they were curled tightly around the pole and would not let go, the pain ever surging through his body.

Breathing heavily, Sora turned to the man for help, only to find the man was leaving through a portal, already closing behind him.

"W-wait!" Sora called weakly as he reached out his free hand, his voice barely loud enough to reach his own ears. Without warning, Sora's free hand began to glow brightly moving from the tip of his fingers and moving down his arm to the rest of his body. Confused, Sora watched as his body began to glow brighter and brighter, but turned his attention to the Keyblade as it too began to glow.

Sora weakly continued attempting to pull his hand away, but to no avail; the brighter he glowed, the weaker he felt, he could barely stand as it was now. When it seemed he couldn't glow any brighter, the Keyblade firmly grasped in his hand slowly began to dissipate in a flurry of light, starting from the tip, and making its way down.

"Please...someone help. It hurts...." He croaked. He body sagged as the Keyblade became closer to disappearing in his hand. His eyes unwillingly slid shut just before the Keyblade vanished and his own body ruptured with light, painting the whole room pure white.

'_Roxas..._' He uttered mentally once more before falling weakly to the ground.

Minutes passed by as the light from Sora slowly dimmed until the room was back to it's normal dim lighting, leaving him unconscious in the middle of the princess made circle. The room was cast into uninterrupted silence before the distinct sound of a dark portal intruded.

Master Xehanort, closely followed by Vanitas approached the boy in satisfaction. Xehanort smirked once more as he looked down at Sora, who lay on his side, before turning to Vanitas expectantly.

"They took him to the Land of Departure, Master." Vanitas informed. "I'm sure you can find him when you get there." He added nonchalantly.

"I see." He said simply in thought. "Take the boy back to the room, Vanitas. I must go capture the other before it is too late. The longer he stays there, the harder it will be to infiltrate." Xehanort instructed as he summoned a portal to his side.

"Once you have put him away, I need you to distract the Keyblade wielders in anyway possible. For my plan to work, I must have no interruptions." He finished as his walked through the portal that would take him to his target.

* * *

_Please be sure to Rewind, after you have Reviewed Please!_

Man, Sora can't seem to get a break huh? :/ Kekeke.

Okay! The **Requirements** have been revealed!

1st Requirement- The one with the largest heart and whose heart can connect to anyone = **Sora**!

2nd Requirement- The possesion of the Kingdom Key and the Inverse Kingdom Key

3rd Requirement- The 7 pure hearts of the Princesses of Heart

4th Requirement- The fated one with the ability to dual wield = **Roxas!**

:D YAY!

So, the reason why Sora and Roxas seemed to become so inseparable is because Sora is the 1st and Roxas is the 4th. As I said before, the 4th **is tied together deeply with the 1st. **Their hearts were tying closer and closer together as Xehanort gathered more of the princesses. The more you have together in one spot, the more their heart will tie, the more of their abilities will awaken (telepathy being the main one, Roxas has yet to awaken his dual wielding abilities yet. Sora's is 'that strange glint' that he isn't aware of and I'm not explaining yet XD).

Why is Ven's heart big, even though he isn't a requirement? ...Well, I'll say it's Sora's influence. He's the reason why Roxas, and his are bigger. The closer the person is tied to him, the more their heart is influenced by his own, enlarging it, though it would never get as big as his nor Roxas (being his twin and a requirement, he's the closest to Sora by destiny). So in all technicality, their mom and Riku also have a slightly enlarged hearts, but you won't need to worry about their mother in this mess. XD

Now you ask, 'What the heck just happened to Sora? D:'

Well, MX tricked him into taking the hold of the Keyblade of People's Heart. Being the 1st requirement, it is set for his body to absorb, or hold the hearts of the princesses into his body, in preparation to open Kingdom Hearts. You'll know how that's going to happen later. X3

So, if you have anymore questions that I didn't answer, please message me or review or something! It is important to me that you get the story you know! XD **And answer that poll!**

**

* * *

**(I'm kinda sad, my hit counter likes to stop working around the time I upload certain chapters, so I don't really know how many I truly have all together... does anyone else have that problem? All my counters haven't been working for a few days now. And it's happened before... T^T)**  
**


	14. Trick X2

**_A/N: _**Okay, this is the **betaed Ch.14**. So if you already read the other, there are only a few very minor changes. XD I don't believe you'll have to read it all over, but hey, if you want to, please do! :D

**ALSO**, there is a **ANOTHER HUGE Information Section** at the end of the chapter. More info on Sora and Roxas! XD

(P.S. **NEW POLL**! IF, and I mean IF, the twins went exploring, which worlds would you want to see and have them come in contact with? 8D Choices are:

Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, The Aristocats, The Rescuers_, The Black Cauldron_, Aladdin, Lilo & Stitch, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. If the one you really want isn't up here. there's a possibity I already have something planned for it! :D Also, the result of the last poll is to write them out... So shall it be! But some scenes will be just written about instead of flashbacky)

Thanks for the help **AngelOfLostLight**(beta!) and **CrimsonDarkness 0013**(plot assistant!)!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too...

* * *

**Trick X2**

The room was comfortably quiet as Roxas lay sleeping on his side in Ven's bed.

_'Roxas...'_

His eyes slowly fluttered open. He gazed in semi-consciousness at the room in front of him, not really focusing on anything recognizable. He was confused and it seemed his chest had a strange ache that had probably been there a while.

He used his arms to sit up on the bed as his mind and body caught up with the present. His eyes grew wider and more panicked as recent events hit him like a brick wall. He jerked his head around the room searching for any signs of Sora, but he was alone, and strangely cold in the small unfamiliar room.

He quickly climbed off the bed, almost falling from sudden dizziness. He regained his footing and quickly ran to the only door in the room. The knob was a bit high for him to completely wrap his hand around, but Roxas could reach it easily when his stood on his toes.

Roxas grabbed the knob desperately, but was confused and afraid to find it locked; the knob wouldn't even turn. He yanked at it will all his strength, but his foot soon grew tired from the strain and he had to release the knob and stand flatly on his feet.

"Let me out!" He yelled repeatedly as he banged at the door harshly. After a few minutes of pent up frustration and slamming on the door, Roxas looked over his shoulder at the room, looking for another escape. He didn't care to notice some of his and Sora's pictures framed on the bookcase, or even some of the small trinket crafts they had especially made for Venny while he was away the first time.

His frantic eyes landed on the window located directly across from the door right next to the bed he just climbed out of. He turned back to the door for a moment in thought before he turned and quickly ran back to the bed and climbed on top to the window.

He looked the window up and down, hoping it would be like his window at home so he could open it. The window looked like it would open up like shutters, but there was no latch to unlock them and there didn't seem to be any creases. Uncaring, Roxas attempted to simply push the windows open, with no success.

Impatient, Roxas thought up the next best idea he could come up with and squeezed his hand into a fist before punching the window with all his might, thinking the window's glass would break like he saw in movies. Immediately after, he pulled his bruised hand to his chest and cradled it with the other as he sobbed in pain and dejection; Sora had been kidnapped and now he was stuck in a strange room where everything was locked and he wasn't strong enough to get out.

Over his sobs, he heard the distinctive sound of a door creaking open. He swiveled his head to see the door slowly creaking open, even though it was securely locked when he tried to open it before.

He looked at the door, waiting for someone to walk in, but no one came. Sore hand still pressed to his chest, he carefully climbed of the bed, eyes focused on the open door. A bit hesitant, Roxas stayed close to the bed and strained to hear if someone was still standing by the door.

"...Hello?" Roxas called weakly after a moment, but received no answer. Uncertain, he slow walked to the door and grabbed the door frame as he peeked out into the hallway. He looked down one end of the hall, but found no one. Shuffling on the end of the hall grabbed his attention and he turned his head just in time to see a small shadow on the floor, receding down another hall.

"...Sora?" He called again, hoping to get an answer. All he got was more shuffling as the shadow completely disappeared down the other hall.

"Venny?" He called, even more quietly. Determined, Roxas mustered all his courage and stepped out of the room and walked quickly down the hall and stopped in front of the corridor where the shadow went, but found the it empty as well. A bit confused, Roxas walked down the hall, intent on finding out if it was his brother.

* * *

"Tomorrow, we will proceed with the Master Qualification Exam." Eraqus announced after Ven's brief explanation of events. Terra and Aqua slightly gaped, but Ven's chin practically hit the floor.

"What do you mean Master? We don't have time for that! Sora and the princes-"

"I know how short we are on time Ventus, but I cannot have Terra and Aqua traveling so many worlds looking for them if they are not ready." Master Eraqus interrupted. Ven stood silently for a moment in thought.

"...What do you mean 'Terra and Aqua'? I'm going too, aren't I?" Ven clarified, but from the stern, yet soft gaze he received, he knew the answer was no. "Why can't I go? S-sora is-"

"I realize they have your brother Ventus, but this is something you are too young to handle." Ven flinched at the 'too young' line he was always branded with. "Not only are you too young, but you yourself are a target. If I were to send you off on your own, you could easily be captured like before."

Ven let his gaze fall to the floor as he ignored the saddened gazes of Terra and Aqua. He sighed in defeat and bitterness and looked up to Eraqus to give in, but was baffled to find him strangely stiff. Ven looked over to Aqua and Terra curiously to find them in the same state.

"A dark entity has intruded." Eraqus announced. As Ven slowly processed the information, worry overrode his senses before taking off down the hall headed straight for his room where Roxas laid sleeping. He too felt the familiar presence that continued to plague him; somehow, Master Xehanort had gotten into the castle.

"Ven!" Aqua called before turning and running after him. Terra was about to follow before Eraqus called out to him.

"Terra! Make sure Roxas is safe and Ventus is not hurt." He ordered. Terra nodded before taking off after his two best friends.

* * *

Roxas continued walking down the halls in awe. The walls looked very majestic and castle-like when coupled with the elegant looking floors that had gold here and there. It was almost like he was in a castle, but why would he be a castle? There weren't any castles on Destiny Island.

Then the thought struck him, maybe he wasn't on Destiny Islands anymore, maybe a different world. Dropping the thought, his attention went back to the walls as he observed the strange dark pattern that began to cover them as he walked further towards the unknown.

About five minutes in his search for the shadow down the halls, he began noticing the strange wispy tendrils that covered the walls as he walked. The further he walked, the more there were and the darker it seemed to get. If it wasn't creepy enough, Roxas noticed that they moved and seemed to be spreading.

Another strange thing about this place was some of the halls themselves. Many of the halls branched into other halls, but Roxas found most of the halls to be oddly blocked. There wasn't actually anything blocking the hall, but some halls were strangely pitch black. It was so dark that it was impossible for him to look down in hopes of seeing the shadow. He was too scared to attempt to search those halls, so he walked down the passages that were visibly clear, even though the halls seemed to get darker and darker as he went along. Not willing to give up in fear, Roxas continued on.

As he came to a corner, he cautiously grabbed the edge and peered over the edge, immediately seeing another blacked hallway not worth looking into. He turned his head in the other direction just as the shadow disappeared around the next corner.

"Sora!" Roxas called out. There was something familiar about the shadow. He didn't know what the feeling was, but it could be Sora, right? It was definitely short enough to be him.

Roxas took off and ran as fast as he could to the corner the shadow walked to and turned the corner without hesitation, only to meet someone's knees.

He crashed into them harshly before falling back on his bottom with his pain filled face grasped in his hands.

"Hello there." An old amused voice spoke. Roxas stiffened before slowly looking up from the ground to meet eager and expectant yellow eyes.

* * *

"Roxas!" Ven called as he turned onto the hall his bedroom was on. His heart plummeted when he saw the bedroom door wide open, even though it was supposed to be locked inside and out. There was no way he could have gotten out himself.

"Roxas?" He called again as he neared the room and quickly peeked his head in. Roxas was no where in sight. Just in case, Ven ran into the room and looked under the bed and every other place he could hide.

Coming up empty handed, Ven ran back out of the room calling for Roxas again. Aqua had only just turned the corner and Ven was already a ways down the hall. She too ran to the room and looked in, finding it empty, just as Terra came up behind her. She turned her head to look down the hall at Ven, who was still running and calling Roxas desperately.

"Ven! Wait for us!" She called as she and Terra ran after him again. They weren't able to get very far before a group of Unversed suddenly appeared to block their path. Terra gritted his teeth angrily and summoned his Keyblade along with Aqua.

"Ventus!" Terra called out once again, but it was ignored as Ven rounded a corner. Taking the initiative, Aqua raced forward towards the Unversed, intent on preventing another incident like before.

* * *

After rounding the corner, Ven continued running as fast as he could, barely noticing Aqua's and Terra's calls.

As he ran, he observed the strange dark wisps that slid across the walls and floors. Just as he turned another corner, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the person who he wanted to find most.

As if completely normal and innocent, Vanitas was leaning against the wall of the hall with his arms crossed over his chest in-front of a hall completely darkened by more wisps; one could not tell if it were just a wall of darkness or if the hall were painted black with dark wisps. Not even a second after Ven arrived, Vanitas turned his head and stood up straight from the wall.

"It's about time you got here. I was beginning to think you got lost." He said in a bored tone. Slightly angered, Ven clenched his hands into fists.

"Where is Roxas?" He shouted as he summoned his Keyblade in anticipation. Vanitas only huffed in amusement.

"Right down the hallway, past me." He answered with a shrug. Ven's expression turned slightly confused, but was replaced with disbelief.

"You're lying." He denied.

"What reason do I have to lie?" He stated, causing Ven to frown even deeper. Deciding to ignore his sarcasm, Ven made to move ahead, but stopped abruptly when Vanitas suddenly summoned his Keyblade.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked simply.

"Where do you think? I'm going to my brother, so don't get in my way." Ven replied as he made to move forward once more.

"Just because I told you where he was doesn't mean I was actually going to let you go to him."

"Like I care, move out of the way!" Ven shouted, though Vanitas only chuckled.

"Aw, is little Venny getting a little sour because I took away his precious little brother?" He taunted. Gritting his teeth, Ven furiously charged forward with his Keyblade ready to swing.

Vanitas stood calmly as Ven raced forward, only to move his Keyblade in a defensive position right before Ven's clashed with his. Amused, Vanitas suddenly pushed his Keyblade forward, causing Ven to loose balance. Not letting up, he then swung his Keyblade harshly, sending Ven flying backwards, landing on his back.

"Don't tell me this is all you've got. No wonder taking Sora was so easy." He continued. Anger rising once more, Ven hastily got up from the floor and charged again. He was unable to see Vanitas's smirk from under his helmet.

* * *

Roxas looked up at the man fearfully. He had recognized the man immediately as the one who fought with Venny and tried to take Kairi and Naminé away. Choosing to ignore his sudden appearance, Roxas shifted slightly to peer behind him, hoping to find Sora, but all he could see was the darkness that blocked many of the other hallways he came across.

Disappointed, Roxas turned his eyes back on the smirking man before standing up, eying him warily. Roxas gathered all his wits and turned to run back in the direction he came, but stopped abruptly when he saw that it was also blocked by the strange darkness.

Dark wisps slowly slithered closer, covering the walls and the floors with ease. Frightened, Roxas quickly backed away, only to run into the man again. He gasped in surprise and quickly turned around and backed away again, making sure not to get to close to the darkness.

Roxas looked over him before taking an audible gulp and pointing at him accusingly.

"G-give Sora back!" He yelled, trying to appear tough, but his stuttering did him no good. In response, Xehanort adopted a false look of confusion.

"What makes you think I have him?" He asked.

"B-because! Your f-friends with that other guy and that means y-your bad too! So you have to have Sora!" Roxas reasoned, courage slowly diminishing as the man simply stared at him with his golden eyes. Intending to make more space between them, Roxas backed away even further, but stopped right at the invisible barrier the darkness seemed to stop advancing at.

"How about we play a game, Roxas?" He questioned. "If you win this game, I will help you find your brother that the 'bad man' took away. But if you lose the game, the darkness might just eat you up." He finished with a smile closely resembling his smirk.

Still skeptic, Roxas took another step backwards, but looked down at his legs strangely when he suddenly felt a strange tingly sensation. His eyes widened greatly when he saw dark wisps crawling up his leg.

"Get it off!" He repeated in alarm, fiercely shaking his leg in attempt to kick off the darkness, thankfully succeeding.

"Do you want to play the game or not?" The man said suddenly, causing Roxas to gasp and jerk his head back in his direction. "You could always just stay here and wait for the darkness to get you." He explained. Roxas gulped again and nodded eagerly, though he didn't want to play games with the bad man.

"H-how do I play?" Roxas asked shakily, occasionally glancing at the darkness behind him. After a moment, the man brought a hand from behind his black and summoned a Keyblade, much like Ven had before, but his Keyblade was frightening. Seeing fear written all over Roxas's face, the man simply grinned.

"There is nothing to worry about, boy. I won't hurt you, but to play this game, we have to have a Keyblade. I don't suppose you have one we can use?" He asked. Roxas shook his head negatively, never taking his eyes from the Keyblade. It was mostly black with silver here and there. It was also very sharp and pointy in places, Roxas was almost afraid to touch it in fear of hurting his fingers.

"This game is really simple, Roxas." He said as he walked closer. Roxas resisted the urge to step backwards, given the darkness would get on him again. "All you must do is hold this Keyblade for thirty seconds." He clarified slowly and proceeded to hold it out to him. Roxas hesitantly reached out for the blade, careful to watch the man's expression for falsehood.

Roxas grasped the handle securely, only faltering a bit when the man let go of the blade, making Roxas hold it himself. Though the blade wasn't that heavy and he didn't have any problems holding it, it was still noticeably heavier than Ven's Keyblade.

Thirty long seconds ticked by slowly before the man suddenly smirked and took the Keyblade form him.

"Congratulations, Roxas. It seems you have won this game." He announced. Roxas was suspicious on why the game was so easy; he had never won a game so easily, unless it was against Sora.

"W-why was it so easy?" Roxas asked quietly, deciding to voice his thoughts.

"Because I'm here to help you find your dear brother." He said as a dark portal began forming next to him. Roxas eyes opened like dinner plates as he watched.

"The bad man took Sora in there!" Roxas protested, no longer having any trust in the mysterious man.

"I'm afraid you are mistaken, Roxas." He said in a correcting manner. "Many people can use these 'doors'. Not just the bad man who took away your brother." He explained. He didn't continue until Roxas seemed to have calmed down.

"These doors can take you anywhere. Even... to Sora." The man paused as Roxas gaped at the dark portal in awe.

"...Is Sora in there?" He asked after a moment. The man nodded with his eyes still fixed on his own. Hopeful, Roxas swiveled his head to the portal and took an eager step forward.

_'Sora!'_ He called mentally, aiming all his attention at the possibility of Sora being on the other side. Sadly, his call was only met with silence after waiting for five agonizing minutes. Tears threatening to fall, Roxas turned to face to the man with betrayal written in his stature.

"Y-you lied! He's not there!" He shouted.

"Of course he is. What makes you think he isn't?"

"Because he didn't a-answer me!" He sobbed. Though his tears had yet to fall, his voice was drowned in his distress. "You're just t-trying to trick me!" Roxas argued, though the man only looked at him with a smile and analyzing eyes.

Willing to try again, Roxas looked back at the portal warily then back up to the man before he approached the dark door.

_'Sora!'_ He called out again. Though he still received no answer, a sudden warmth washed over him as he took another step towards the portal. He gasped in surprise, immediately recognizing it as Sora, though he didn't question how.

"W-why won't Sora talk to me?" Roxas questioned as he walked closer to the dark portal. He turned to the man and saw a look of apprehension cross his features. "D-do you think the man did something b-bad to him?"

"Do not worry, Roxas. Sora is right on the other side of that 'door' waiting for you." Roxas turned back to the portal and closed the little distance between him and it. He watched the dark colors swirl menacingly towards the middle before turning back to the man angrily.

"He did do something!" He shouted. He then turned to the portal and ran right in, determined to save his brother.

* * *

Panting tiredly, Ven was on his knees with his hands on the floor a few feet away from Vanitas; He had yet to even break a sweat. Neither spoke before Vanitas broke the silence with a disappointed sigh.

"It seems I was excited over nothing. Even you're little brothers are more fun than you are." He said as he began walking towards Ven. "Master should have looked into things more carefully instead of assuming a weakling like you would be a requirement."

"What do you mean 'requirement?'" Ven asked through his intakes of breath.

"Oh, did I say that?" He said sarcastically. "Just forget I said anything. Oh never mind." He continued as he came to a stop directly in-front of Ven. "Soon you won't exist, so remembering would probably be impossible." He finished as he raised his Keyblade.

"Just think about it. If only you had been a little stronger, you could have saved both of your brothers." Vanitas smiled in satisfaction when Ven gasped quietly. "But you shouldn't be so uptight, Ven, you're brothers will be well taken care of." Just as he finished, he swung his Keyblade down, but it was suddenly knocked out of his grasp as another Keyblade crashed into it.

Pausing in confusion, Vanitas turned his head slightly in the direction of his Keyblade, giving Terra time to yank Ven away with the back of his shirt and throw him a distance away from Vanitas as Aqua and himself stood battle ready. Re-summoning her Keyblade, Aqua gave Vanitas a hard stare.

"Where have you taken Roxas?" She asked sternly; the scene was much like the one on the beach.

"So now two people come to join the part? How fun." Vanitas replied as he also re-summoned his Keyblade. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't have Roxas." He said, falling into his battle stance.

"Where is he? There's no way he was able to get out of that room." Terra commented furiously.

"You're right. He didn't get out by himself. All Master had to do was unlock his door and he followed little shadows like a newborn chick." One could tell Vanitas was smirking behind his helmet. "If you think about it, he left all on his own. Should you really be that worried?" Having enough, Terra suddenly dashed forward, engaging with Vanitas as Aqua moved away to look over Ven.

"Ven, are you okay?" She asked as she bent down to his level, worried about his still harsh breathing.

"... I have to get Roxas." He replied as he stood up from the floor. He started to walk off, but Aqua blocked his path.

"Ven, you aren't in any condition to try and find Roxas past all that darkness. Sit down and rest a little until we get rid of Vanitas." She instructed, causing Ven to gape in disbelief.

"Aqua, there's no way I'm going to just sit here and watch you guys fight! I'm going to fight too and find Roxas. Then Sora." He said with determination. Aqua's stern gaze wavered as she gave in, though she still didn't want him to fight.

"Fine, but you better not get hurt, or you'll be in trouble with me big time." Ven smiled before he was suddenly pulled to the side by Aqua right before a blizzard spell froze the area where they previously standing.

"What's wrong guys? Don't you want to join your friend here in the fun?" Vanitas asked before dodging a possibly fatal blow from Terra. Frowning, Ven summoned his Keyblade and stood ready next to Aqua before they both raced forward towards Vanitas.

Terra made for another blow just as Vanitas landed again, but missed when Vanitas jumped back. He let out an amused snort but quickly jumped away just before Ven was able to hit a clear blow on his back. Not giving him anytime to recover, Aqua ran up behind him again, but he was able to swivel around just in time to block her blade.

Following the hastily thought up plan, Ventus immediately aimed a thunder spell at Vanitas while he was distracted by Aqua, but it failed.

Vanitas dodged the bolt just before it managed to hit him, leaving Aqua an open target. Quickly thinking, she immediately cast a reflect spell on herself, narrowly blocking the attack. She sighed in relief and looked up to see a panicked and ashamed Ventus, but reassured him with a nod before turning back to Vanitas.

Vanitas stood once again in-front of the darkened hallway, though still no signs of tiring, but only Ventus seemed tired, anyway.

Just as Terra was about to charge forward again, the dark wisps that were crawling steadily across the walls and floors suddenly retracted noticeably.

Vanitas turned his attention from the Keyblade trio to observe the phenomenon himself before sighing loudly, gaining their attention.

"Well it seems our little party has come to an end. But don't worry, I'm sure we'll have another one soon." He said as he turned and began walking towards the pitch black hallway that was slowly returning to its normal brightness.

"Hold on!" Ven called as he ran after Vanitas, only to be ignored. Just as Vanitas disappeared into the strange darkness, it faded quickly back into a normal hall way, all traces of darkness gone.

Confused, Ven ran forward faster, rounding the oncoming corner, just in time to see Xehanort preparing to leave via dark corridor.

"Stop!" He shouted. Xehanort paused and looked over his shoulder at him with the same strange grin he almost always had plastered over his lips.

"Oh, my, if it isn't Ventus." He said, turning completely around to face him as Terra and Aqua also came rounding the corner.

"Where are the twins!" He yelled desperately. Xehanort temporarily ignored him and turned his gaze to Terra, who stiffed up strangely. Xehanort chuckled darkly and turned back to Ven.

"Ventus, Ventus, Ventus. I have told you many times that you should control your worrying tendencies." Xehanort answered. "Your brothers will be fine in my care." He continued, watching as Aqua's jaw set and Ven's face turned to panic.

"How about this," He said as he turned back to the dark corridor behind him. Ven made to run forward again, but this time Terra held him back, knowing there was no way they could take him, even with all three of them together. "I'll give you a progress report on them when I see you again." He said as he left through the portal.

Once again, the feeling of despair and uselessness consumed Ven's entire being.

* * *

The other side of the portal was nothing like he thought it would be. Everything was dark, much like the blocked halls in the place he dubbed 'weird castle'. Everywhere he ran, it was all darkness, but strangely, his own body gave off its own dim light, allowing him to see himself, but nothing else around him. The only sound he could hear was his own harsh breathing and running footsteps.

He felt like he had been running forever, but nothing changed, everything was still darkness. Exhausted, Roxas stopped abruptly, putting his hands on his knees to even out his breathing. After what felt like a couple of minutes, a new sound of footsteps echoed in the seemingly empty space.

Anxious and weary, he looked around trying to locate the source, but found nothing. His anxiety grew as the footsteps became louder in approach. Paranoid, Roxas began walking quickly, hoping the footsteps would quiet as he moved away, but after a few minutes he realized they were only getting louder and closer.

Truly panicked, Roxas began running as fast as he could, hoping now the footsteps would fade, but again, they only drew closer, still easily identifiable over his loud breathing. Roxas constantly looked behind him as he ran; just to be sure no one was coming up behind him. Distracted from looking behind himself, he suddenly tripped over nothing, causing him to collapse fully to the ground, face first. Temporarily stunned, all he could do was groan.

After a moment, Roxas jerked his head up from the dark floor, quickly peering behind him for any signs of approaching footsteps, only hearing silence. Temporarily relieved, he sighed quietly and swiveled his head forward, only to be surprised by a portal similar to the one he went through directly in-front of him.

He stared at the dark portal in fascination before slowly and cautiously picking himself off the floor, glancing behind himself once more for any approaching figures, but eventually turned back to the portal. Though he was highly suspicious, seeing as the first portal dumped him in the empty black space, something about this portal was different. Again, the warm presence that he felt before washed over him, though this time it was much stronger. And for some unexplainable reason, he just knew Sora was on the other side this time.

Without hesitation, Roxas quickly walked into the portal, this time arriving in another dark area, though not as dark as before. He looked down at himself to see the strange glow he had before was gone and he could barely see his own hands.

He looked up and examined the space critically, noticing it seemed to be a small room with what looked to be a chair, a small table, and a bed. Ignoring the minor details, his eyes stopped on what seemed to be a door, seeing as light from outside the room traced a rectangle of light around the frame.

Roxas hastily made his was to the door and scrambled to grab the door knob, attempting to twist it, but it was locked. He persistently struggled to open it, but to no avail.

Eventually giving up, he let a few sobs escape his mouth and frustrated tears leak from his eyes. He should have known not to talk to strangers, his mother always told him they were bad and mean. Taking a shaky breath, Roxas looked over his shoulder to give the room a more thorough look, verifying the objects he saw before, though there was something he didn't notice before.

Someone was laid on top of the bed.

"...Hello?" Roxas called quietly, wondering if the person had been watching him from the bed the whole time, or if they were actually sleeping; he received no answer. Taking an audible gulp, he stepped away from the door and slowly approached the bed.

"Hey... are you awake?" He asked again, now at the edge of the bed. He stood there, unable to see the person, but waited for an answer. After another moment of silence, Roxas grabbed the edge of the bed and began to pull himself on top, but nearly fell halfway when his eyes revealed a sleeping Sora.

"Sora!" He yelled aloud and internally, pulling himself all the way on top of the bed and crawled to Sora's side. "Sora!" he shouted again, hoping he would wake, though he still slept undisturbed. "...Sora?" Roxas said as he began shaking Sora's sleeping form, but he still didn't wake.

Though he wouldn't wake, Roxas still felt relief flood into his system and all the pent up stress finally release as he wiped away the tears that began to steadily flow from his eyes, unable to hold back a smile of happiness.

"Sora... you sleep too much." He said through his sniffles.

* * *

_Rewind Pawweeessseeee!_

So, Hmm... it seems Xehanort isn't such a bad guy after all? *snicker*

Okay, this was my first time writing a battle scene... I don't think it's a;; that good, but let me know what you thinK! XD

Now then, Sora and Roxas's abilities!

Sora-

1. Self Preservation Mechanism

-That was what happened with Vanitas yes. When his enlarged senses imminent danger due to actual darkness, it basically sets off a flash bomb made of light. It will obliterate any imminent threats nearby. Takes a lot of energy though. That was another reason why Sora kinda slept for a little while, not just because of his concussion.

2. Glittering Eye

-Something I'm not quite ready to reveal is that 'glittering eye' he seems to have... hm... maybe next chapter. XD

3. Unknown!

-It's not really an ability, but it has something to do with Sora's 'glittering eye'. Roxas also has this... condition. It's what gave them those dreams, but that's all I'll say for now! XD

Roxas-

1. Dual Wielding

-Of course, Roxas has a _natural_ ability to dual wield. (notice the italics)

2. Telepathy

-Of course both Roxas and Sora have this ability, but it is only with each other. They can't randomly talk mentally with someone. Also, Roxas is better at telepathy than Sora just because. XD There's no real reason for it.

3. Sensing Sora

-Well, Roxas is able to 'feel' Sora. You know, that warm feeling he got, that's Sora's presence. Yup yup. I don't have anything more to say about it right now. XD


	15. A New Adventure Begins

**_A/N: _**This is now **BETAED**! Alright guys. I've been so busy lately! U_U And because of this, I'm taking just a lliitttllleee short break. It'll only be... most definely less than a month. And so that I make sure I tie in all plot points and such, I'm going to update every other week. To make it it's best!

(P.S. **NEW POLL**! IF, and I mean IF, the twins went exploring, which worlds would you want to see and have them come in contact with? 8D Choices are:

Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, The Aristocats, The Rescuers_, The Black Cauldron_, Aladdin, Lilo & Stitch, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. If the one you really want isn't up here. there's a possibity I already have something planned for it! :D Also, the result of the last poll is to write them out... So shall it be! But some scenes will be just written about instead of flashbacky)

Next Update, The Poll Will Be Closed! **Nightmare Before Christmas and Alice in Wonderland are winning!** So if you want something else, then vote quickly! :D

Thanks for the help **DemonessofDepartingSorrows**(pfft, same person)(beta!) and **CrimsonDarkness 0013**(plot assistant!)!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too...

* * *

**A New Adventure Begins**

"Ha! I knew you guys were wimps. You even had to lie about exploring the haunted mansion." Seifer announced as he shook his head in disappointment. Fuu and Rai stood by his sides, nodding their heads vigorously in agreement; or Rai did, anyway.

Hayner gritted his teeth in anger, though he stopped himself from just fighting right then and there by clenching a fist and pointing a tensed index finger in Seifer's face; his finger was nowhere near his face, though, given Seifer was much taller than they were.

"You guys are the wimps! You were the one who screamed and ran away when we say the ghost in the window!" He proclaimed, earning a glare from Seifer. "And then, when me, Pence, and Olette went to go explore the mansion, you and your sissy friends didn't even want to go into the forest!" He finished loudly.

"Did you call me a sissy?" Seifer questioned gruffly as he bent down to Hayner's eye level, holding an intense glare.

"Uh... Hayner... maybe we should go now..." Pence tried, though he was ignored.

"Yeah!" Hayner confirmed. Olette and Pence sighed tiredly; Hayner always seemed to get them into trouble.

"How about this?" Seifer replied standing, straight up and placing his arms across his chest. "This time, me, Rai, and Fuu will follow you into the forest and watch you crybabies enter the house. That way, I can prove you're all just scaredy cats!" Hayner's jaw worked furiously and before Olette was able to stop him, the deal was made.

"Fine! Me, Olette and Pence are gonna go in the mansion again, just to prove that you guys are scaredy cats!" He yelled, again pointing his index finger in Seifer's face. Olette and Pence could only sigh as they were once more included in Hayner's rivalry.

* * *

Ven stood near the wall anxious, impatient, and very ashamed. After Roxas had 'disappeared', to say he was devastated was an understatement. Terra and Aqua's attempts to comfort and encourage him did little to calm him. Master Eraqus held off their Master Qualification exam for another week as to give some time for Ven to come out of his post traumatic stress. It wasn't completely gone of course, but he wasn't freaking out every time he spotted a dark corner.

Even being in a slightly dimmed room made him a bit frantic and fed his urges to 'find them', attempting many times to leave or escape in search of them. Now, he was only paranoid and very keen on leaving in search of them, though he kept his desires contained.

Ven's attention returned to the room as Master Eraqus stepped forward. He stood straight in attention, as did Aqua and Terra. Eraqus stopped at the end of the elevated flooring, giving Terra and Aqua an authoritative glance before speaking.

"We will now begin the Master exam."

* * *

"For us to believe you, you guys have to stay in there for five whole minutes." Seifer reiterated, crossing his arms smugly with Rai and Fuu mimicking his movements.

They were all standing right outside the large locked gates that blocked visitors from entry into the mansion; or adults any way. Being children, they were small enough to slip between the large spaces between the bars.

Ignoring his jabs, Hayner squeezed through the iron gate with Pence and Olette not too far behind.

As they approached the large door marking the entrance to the mansion, Olette looked back at the trio still standing beyond the gate before turning back with a sigh.

"Hayner, why do you always do this? You know that they know that we already went inside!" Olette complained as they stopped in front of the doors. Hayner turned to Olette with his usual pout involving Seifer and his gang.

"But Olette, if we do this with them standing there, then there's no way they can deny it!" He explained as he pushed open the doors; they were always unlocked.

"But Olette is right. Now we have to waste more time in here," Pence said, stepping ahead of them to stand in the middle of the large foyer, turning to face them. "All the doors and stuff are always locked. There's nothing to explore!"

"We might find something this time..." Hayner tried, though it was obvious Pence and Olette weren't very believing since they were both staring at him blandly.

"Fine, fine! We might not find anything... but can we look anyway?" He pleaded. Olette and Pence looked at each other tiredly before nodding in approval. Without another word, the trio split up to explore in the same areas they had the previous visit.

After about ten minutes of attempting to yank open locked doors, failing to pick locks, and feeling around walls for 'hidden compartments', as suggested by Pence, they returned to the foyer with obvious disappointment.

"I told you we wouldn't find anything." Olette announced as she began heading towards the door to leave.

"Wait." Pence halted as he walked towards the glass doors that lead to the mansion's courtyard. "We haven't checked this door yet..." He explained, reaching for the handle.

"That door is going to be locked just like the others." Hayner denied as he turned towards Olette and the front door, though he grew confused when he noticed she was gaping at something behind him. Curious, he turned around to find a shocked Pence at the now open glass doors.

"I-it opened..." Pence stuttered after a moment. Excited about the turn of events, Hayner swiveled around to grab Olette's wrist before racing toward the glass doors, making sure to push Pence inside as he dragged Olette in after him.

"Okay! Now, we must explore this place too." He ordered, pretending to look over a great distance by squinting and placing a flat palm above his eyes to 'block out the jungle's sun'. After a quick scan of the backyard, the only slightly interesting thing there was was a wooden shed not too far away, but Hayner was even more disappointed than before.

"There's nothing out here either." He proclaimed with slumped shoulders.

"But there's a shed right there." Olette tried as she maneuvered past debris from broken statues and pillars. "There might be something cool inside, right?"

"Like what? It's a small little shed. You can't even fit a tractor in there." He complained as he and Pence followed after her.

"Maybe there's some cool treasure inside or something?" Pence suggested as they all arrived in front of the small shed.

"...Well, up close, it doesn't look very safe... I think we should just go." Olette replied, seemingly worried.

"We should just look anyway." Hayner said just as he opened the unlocked shed door. Instead of what they thought would be a small empty space was actually a dark steep stair way that made it impossible to tell how far it went.

"... I think we should really go now." Olette repeated, taking a step away from the now menacing seeming shed.

"Why? We just found the coolest thing here and you want to leave?" Hayner complained.

"But look at it Hayner! It looks scary and dangerous." Pence tried, only to be mostly ignored.

"You guys should stop being so girly! We can finally go on a real adventure!" He emphasized by throwing his hands in the air, looking down the dark passage.

"But I am a girl!" Olette replied angrily. Her anger was cut short when Hayner suddenly grabbed her wrist and yanked her down the staircase along with Pence after Hayner.

After a few minutes of endless running, panicking, and screaming, they arrived at the bottom of the staircase, falling into a mess of arms and legs.

"Hayner! Why did you do that?" Olette complained painfully as she got up from the top of their tangled pile, allowing Pence to roll off of the crushed Hayner. Dusting themselves off as they stood, they ignored the groaning Hayner as they looked around.

The three were at one end of a dark hallway, though light enough to clearly make out three doors; two being a few feet away on either side of the hall, all the last at the other end of the long hall. Slightly curious, Olette walked to the closet door.

She noticed that the walls, like around the rest of the mansion looked fairly old, but was probably very pretty a long time ago. And the door was old and decrepit, much like the other doors around the house. Careful not to fall, Olette stood on her tiptoes and reached for the knob to open the door, wandering what was inside.

"Let me open it!" A voice suddenly boomed from her side. Surprised, she let out a short yelp and punched the closet thing nearby; that thing being Hayner's arm.

"Why did you punch me?" Hayner complained as he rubbed his new sore spot.

"B-because! You scared me!" She replied, scowling at him for getting the best of her. Returning the scowl, Hayner stepped forward and reached for the knob quickly, finding it locked like all the other doors in the mansion.

"It's locked." He huffed, turning around to face Pence and Olette who were already at the other door across the hall. Before Pence had the opportunity to reach for the knob, Hayner raced forward and grabbed it for him, expecting it to be locked, but was surprised to find it opened as he went sailing into the floor once more.

"That's what you get for rushing, Hayner." Olette taunted before helping him stand up from the floor. Once all three were standing and together, they took an excited glance around the room, only to be disappointed once more. In the dark room there was only a chair, a table, and a bed; boring to say the least in their opinion.

"Well, there's one more door. Maybe it's unlocked." Hayner commented as he made his way back to the door.

"Wait Hayner!" Olette said, grabbing onto Pence nearby so that he also didn't walk away.

"What?" He asked boredly, only turning back slightly to see her eyes trained on the bed.

"...I think there're people sleeping on the bed." She whispered, taking a few steps towards the small bed. In a dubious fashion, Hayner turned his eyes to inspect the bed once more from his position. At a first look, the 'people' on the bed just looked like cover lumps or barely there at all, but after a closer look, he could see the 'lump' was an actual person with their back to them.

* * *

"I will now announce the results of the exam." Master Eraqus stated, once again standing at the edge of the elevated floor looking at Terra and Aqua. He turned to Terra first, prepared for his soon to be disappointment.

"Terra, your skills far surpass Aqua's." He paused slightly, turning his gaze to Aqua. "However, this time, it is Aqua who will become Master." He continued quickly, ignoring their surprised gasps.

"Terra, you used the darkness of your heart. Therefore, you have failed. I expect you to work harder next time. That is all." He finished, turning to Aqua once more. "Aqua, I will inform you of your new duties as a Keyblade Master. Please wait here." He then proceeded to leave without another word.

"Terra." Aqua said immediately, turning to him, still slightly shocked by the outcome. Also perplexed, Ven quickly approached them.

"I thought Terra would..." He trailed off, Aqua nodding in agreement.

He was quiet for a moment before speaking, more to himself than to them. "There's darkness in my heart?" He asked aloud. They stood quietly again as Eraqus walked past them, tension high. "...Sorry... I need to be alone." He stated as he walked away, leaving Ven and Aqua to watch him retreat from behind, neither knowing what to say.

* * *

_A warm breeze blew across the grass field freely, as there was nothing blocking its path. As it slightly mingled and combed through his hair, his eyes opened sleepily, meeting with the blue moon that was always right above him when he was in 'that' place._

_But it seemed this time, 'that' place was different. Bewildered by the difference he felt, Roxas sat up slowly, eyes dancing around the changed surrounding. The time that he came here before, armored figures were warring against eat other, staining the ground with the enemies and their comrades blood. The air was tense and dry like it most likely would be in a desert of elevated cliffs and cracked dirt. Though the blue moon above him was the same, the heavy feeling he had before that bore down on him when he looked up at it before was all but gone; replaced by a slightly warm comfortable feeling._

_Now, one would think you were in a completely different place. The land was flat and covered with short grass and patches of wild flowers now and again. Not quite believing, Roxas looked around further, but as far as he could see was the green plain, eventually blending in with the slightly cloudy blue sky._

_Giving up on understanding his situation, Roxas sighed tiredly, letting his head fall slightly with closed eyes. In a sudden burst, a harsh wind raged by, knocking Roxas over backwards with a yelp of surprise. Sitting up quickly after, he swiveled his head to look behind him, watching as the wind danced with the grass far behind him._

_In a daze, he turned around once more, only for something next to him to catch his eye. Slightly frightened, he turned his attention to what he realized was Sora's sleeping form next to him._

_"Sora!" He called immediately, twisting so he was up on his hands and knees. He received no response once again; it was something he was getting used to. Though he had little doubt that he wasn't simple sleeping, Roxas slowly put a hesitant hand over his chest, just to be sure his heart was still beating._

_He huffed quietly in relief when he found his heartbeat; it was strong and easy to feel out. Satisfied, he took his hand away and leaned back onto his legs. He was only able to relax for a moment before the scenery began to flicker to a more familiar one, but it was in no way comforting._

_Panicked, Roxas crawled closer to Sora as the grassy plains flickered and twisted into a barren wasteland of rusted Keyblades implanted into the ground. His breath quickened as his eyes darted around them; sure he would find an approaching armored figure, but found none._

_The flickering continued for a few minutes before it settled back down to the grassy fields. Still on edge, Roxas gave the plain another critical glance, this time noticing people in the distance. At first he was a bit frightened, though he calmed down, considering they weren't bulky enough to be the armored figures from before._

_Squinting a bit to see them, he was able to count seven people, all of them looked like girls from the distance; two of them looked a lot like Kairi and Naminé, but he couldn't really tell from so far away. He could tell that all the seven people he counted looked like girls. He was happy the only thing that was here this time was grassy plains and some girls standing off in the distance, but he wondered where they even were._

_"I think they're twins…" A voice suddenly echoed quietly. On guard once more, Roxas scanned the area quickly, looking for the source of the voice, but there was still only the people in the distance._

_"Stop poking him or he'll wake up!" Another boomed, causing Roxas to cringe and hold his hands over his ears. He was sure it's loudness would wake Sora, but he was still sleeping by his side._

_Looking out into the distance, he wondered if the people far off heard it also, but they seemed unchanged as they stood there facing his direction. Not even a moment later, the scenery began to flicker once more; this time, only flickering to darkness with the light slowly dimming until everything was black._

* * *

Blinking open his eyes rapidly, Roxas's eyes met with three other pairs of wide eyes.

"See! You woke him up Hayner!" A girl's voice spoke. Not taking the time to fully analyze the situation, Roxas immediately began screaming. Startled, the three strangers also began screaming as they scrambled away from him to the other side of the bed.

They all continued to scream for a few minutes before stopping abruptly, letting silence fill the room besides them trying to catch their breath, staring at each other with wide eyes.

"...W-who are you?" Roxas asked as he squinted through the darkness. It seemed that they were the same age as him, two being boys and one girl. They all sat silently for a moment before the middle one got on his knees.

"I'm Hayner." He said, pointing a thumb to himself proudly. "And this is Pence, and Olette." He continued, pointing them out before pointing a finger in Roxas face, much to his confusion. "So who are you guys?" Hesitant, Roxas slightly opened his mouth to speak, but paused to look at the trio before answering.

"... I'm Roxas..." He said finally, taking a glancing down at the spot next to him to see Sora sleeping exactly as he was in the dream. "And this is my brother, Sora."

Hayner hummed in acceptance, though he still held his finger pointed in Roxas face, much to his annoyance. As if reading his mind, Olette slapped his hand down before turning back to Roxas with another question.

"What are you guys doing in here?" Remembering the recent events, Roxas turned fully to Sora, checking him out and making sure he wasn't hurt before proceeding to climb over him off the bed in a rush.

"What's wrong?" Olette questioned as she also climbed off the bed with Hayner and Pence. Roxas paused at his spot near the bed before reaching up to start pulling Sora from the bed.

"I came here to save my brother. A bad man took him away..." He explained.

"Bad man?" Pence repeated, giving a glance around the room as if he would be there. In response, Roxas nodded vigorously and began to pull Sora from the bed by his arm.

"So I'm rescuing him so we can go home." Hayner watched him as he struggled to pull Sora off the bed, questions bubbling on the surface of his tongue.

"…Why don't you just wake him up first so that he can escape by himself?" Hayner asked, curious as to why he was trying to drag him from the bed instead of just waking him up to do it himself. Roxas paused and turned to glance at him sadly.

"Because… he won't wake up." He answered.

"Why? Is he dead?" Hayner questioned simply, earning a harsh elbow jab in the ribs, curtsey of Olette. After giving him a glare as he groaned in pain, Olette turned to Roxas with a smile as to override Hayner's rudeness.

"We can help you rescue him." She said, stepping up beside him. "That way we can get him out of here quicker." She explained. He looked slightly hesitant again, before nodding his head happily.

"Thanks."

* * *

After a long struggle of carrying Sora up the long stairway leading to the underground hallway, they all finally made it to the mansion's foyer, Sora being carried over Hayner and Roxas's shoulders.

As they walked the short distance from the outside to the front doors, Roxas eyes wondered around the old mansion curiously. He had never seen a place so big and old on their island.

"Where is this place?" He asked as they reached the door, Olette and Pence opening it for them. Hayner turned to him in disbelief, almost thinking he was joking.

"You came all the way here and don't even know where you are?"

"...I didn't come in this way." He said quietly. They continued on through the doors before Pence actually answered his question.

"We're at the haunted Old Mansion. You know, the one at the hole in the wall in the forest?" Only slightly paying attention, Roxas gaped at the tall pines that made a thick forest past a large gate he had never seen before.

"There isn't a forest like this on the island... And I never heard of a haunted mansion either." He stated in confusion.

"But everyone in Twilight Town knows about the old mansion..." Olette trailed off.

"Twilight Town? ...Where's that?" He asked, becoming more confused by the minute, though he gave Hayner the impression that he was stupid.

"Twilight Town. Duh, it's where we all live." He stated blandly.

"I don't live in Twilight Town!" Roxas denied with a frown. "I live on Destiny Islands..." He trailed, gaining their skeptical glances as he remembered something.

* * *

"_Aqua?" Sora asked. She looked down at the trio of boys, all looking up at her with obvious downed expression; minus Riku of course, he looked smug. As to hear them better, she squatted down to their level._

"_What's wrong?"_

"_...We can't do the cartwheels right." Roxas answered in shame. Riku smirked from behind as Sora and Roxas's expression turned sadder. She had taken them to Play Island to learn a few 'battle moves', cartwheels being the easiest to teach and should have been the easiest for them to learn. She glanced off to the side where Kairi and Naminé were practicing. _

_They were obviously better off, though Naminé wasn't doing that much better than the boys, Kairi had almost mastered it. And as expected, Riku was able to get it after only a few tries, but she suspected it was because he was older._

"_Can we learn something else?" Sora pleaded, almost hopping up and down from his position. Aqua laughed a little at his behavior before becoming thoughtful. There was a long pause before she finally sat down on the sand, motioning the boys to follow._

"_Now, what I'm going to tell you is very very important, so you aren't allowed to tell anyone else, okay? It's a big secret." She said, holding a finger over her mouth for emphasis. She knew she had caught their full attention as soon as she said the word secret, seeing as they were now wide eyed and obviously curious, even Riku was absorbed by her words._

"_Listen" She said simply, "You've seen the stars at night, right?" She asked, earning a nod from all three of them. "Well, all those stars are worlds, just like this one, except they all look different in their own way." She explained._

_Riku looked up at the blue starless sky in awe, but Sora and Roxas looked at her skeptically._

"_But the stars are too small to be islands..." Roxas half questioned._

"_The other worlds are so far away, they only look really small, but most are actually much bigger than the islands." She replied._

* * *

"Hellooo." Hayner called as he waved his free hand in Roxas's face. After a moment, he finally blinked out of his daze.

"I just remembered what Aqua told me." He stated suddenly as he walked forward.

"Who's Aqua?" Asked Olette.

"Aqua and Terra are my big brothers best friends." He explained. "But Aqua told me that all the stars are different worlds. So since this isn't my island, then it's a different world!" He finished with new enthusiasm.

"That's impossible." Hayner denied with a huff. Roxas turned to frown at him. "The stars are too small to be 'worlds'. That would mean I can crush all the people on them with my shoe!" He emphasized by stomping a foot as they approached the gates. Roxas was about to reveal more of what she said, but was interrupted unexpectedly by Pence.

"Actually, I read in a book that the stars are so far away, they only look small to us, but they're actually huge... but I never read that they were different worlds."

"They are!" Roxas insisted, but stopped when he noticed Olette and Pence stop in front of them.

"What are those?" Olette questioned as she pointed to something behind them. Roxas swiveled his head back towards the mansion, not expecting what he saw. Just like on the island the day the bad man took Sora away, the small monsters stood menacingly by the gates.

"...Are they some kind of animal?" Hayner hypothesized before he nearly fell on his face as Roxas raced forward.

"RUN!" He yelled, dragging Sora and an unwilling Hayner along, not even sure where he was going. Pence and Olette exchanged confused glances before turning their attention back to the monsters that suddenly began to advance on them.

Holding nothing back, they both screamed in fright as they quickly ran after Hayner and Roxas, monsters chasing not far behind.

* * *

Looking out from a large window in front of the mansion, Vanitas watched as the children ran screaming towards the forest, leaning against the window with helmet in hand. Though his face wouldn't be visible from the outside, he couldn't help but smirk at their weakness; the Unversed weren't even trying very hard to catch up to them.

Just as one of the Unversed was about to trip up the girl, the door began to creak. Turning his gaze to the door, he unsummoned the Unversed as Master Xehanort entered the room. Without a word, Xehanort walked straight to the window, looking out as the children ran in fright, though nothing was chasing them.

"What were you doing?" He questioned.

"…Just having a little fun." He answered truthfully. "And wondering why we went through all the trouble of catching them if you were just going to let them go."

"I had no intention of keeping them locked away in a dark room." He started, turning from the window as to begin slow pacing. "Keeping them asleep in a room isn't going to repair their bond that you nearly broke. Sending them off on this… 'adventure', will not only give them time to for them to tie back together, but it also gives Ventus a reason for his journey. Not to 'save' his brothers, but to find them." He stopped pacing as he came to a stop in front of Vanitas.

"I have been meaning to ask you." He continued, turning to Vanitas. "How do you think Ventus did?"

"Not even close to good." He replied, already knowing he was referring to their short battle at the Land of Departure. "I need to teach him some discipline."

"Don't do anything yet." Xehanort said after a moment before walking towards the door to leave. "It would be troublesome if you were caught."

"I know" He remarked, retuning his helmet to his head. "I was just thinking a little more motivation on his journey wouldn't hurt. Much."

* * *

Continuing their mad dash, they were all too frightened to even notice the Unversed had long since disappeared. When the hole in the wall leading back to town finally came into view, they all sped up to their limits, knowing for sure the monsters would never follow them into town.

Too panicked to care much about their footing, they all carelessly stumbled over the fallen rubble, no doubt originating from the hole in the wall.

Roxas fell first, followed by the still unconscious Sora on top of him, Hayner landing to the side of them. He could be considered lucky if Pence and Olette had not fallen down roughly on top of him.

They all laid in a painful daze for a few minutes, only shaken from it when three loud laughs reached their ears. Pushing up slightly, Hayner rolled Olette and Pence of his back and looked up to see Seifer, Fuu, and Rai laughing; obviously at them.

"I told you guys you were all wimps! Just look at you, you were running and screaming like babies!" Seifer said between fits of laughter.

"But we were running from monsters!" Olette claimed, looking back into the hole in the wall expecting to see them, but saw nothing.

"What monsters? All I see are crybabies." Seifer snorted, ignoring Hayner's furious expression as his eyes landed on Roxas apparently looking over Sora for injuries.

"Who are you guys?" He suddenly called, causing Roxas to whip his head in surprise.

"Huh?"

"I said: who. Are. You?" This time stepping up and leaning in his face with an intimidating scowl.

"I-I" Roxas tried; he never really liked big kids, they were even stronger than Riku.

"What's your name?" He continued, ignoring his stuttering.

"Roxas doesn't have to tell you anything!" Hayner shouted pulling Roxas backwards slightly.

"So his name is Roxas?" He repeated, Hayner blushing in embarrassment from revealing his name. "So who's the sleeping one?" He insisted.

"We don't have to tell you anything!" Hayner continued, pointing another finger in his face. Annoyed, Seifer slapped his hand away, turning around to leave not even a second later.

"Like I want to know you crybabies names anyway." He sneered, walking off with Rai and Fuu at his sides.

They all watched as he left before Hayner turned to Roxas, obviously still stirred up.

"Roxas, you don't ever have to listen to what Seifer says. He thinks he's the boss, but he's not." He lectured.

"But don't make him angry or he'll get you in trouble." Olette added, knowing from past experience, most of which she was included in because of Hayner.

"Roxas! Sora is waking up." Pence alerted, having made his way to him through the whole ordeal. Rotating around quickly, Roxas looked at Sora in worry as his eyes began to slowly open. What he saw was worse than before.

Before, being after their nightmare, Sora's eyes were dull looking and not their normal vibrant blue. But Roxas could still see the black spot in his eyes. Now, it was like his eyes were a faded blue spot. They looked nothing like the blue before, being dark and more grey than blue. And the black spot that was in everyone's eyes were gone.

"…Sora?" Roxas called quietly, waving a hand in Sora's face in his own daze. Much like before, he didn't blink.

"…What's wrong with him?" Olette asked just as quietly, looking into his empty eyes.

"We have to get him somewhere safe." Hayner instructed abruptly, grabbing Sora's arm as he began pulling him up. "So snap out of it or the bad man will catch up to us!" He instructed, shaking Roxas from his stupor. Nodding dumbly, Roxas also stood, gripping Sora's other arm intending to put them over their shoulders once more, but the stopped when they noticed Sora standing on his own.

They slowly released his arms, letting him stand for himself.

"…Well, this only makes it easier." Hayner commented, walking forward. "We're going to take you to our Secret Spot. No one can find you there." Roxas nodded again in understanding, walking after him, expecting Sora to follow, but he stood in place.

"Sora?" Roxas called, rushing back to him, worried. When he was similar to this before, he still followed Roxas when they walked.

"We got to hurry!" Hayner urged before Olette punched him again for rushing them. Taking the initiative, Roxas grabbed Sora gently by the arm and pulled him along, happy that there was no resistance as they walked.

* * *

_Rewind till the tape is broken PLEASE!_

Hmm.. what to say what to say...

Oh yes, Roxas 'rescued' Sora! XD With the help of the Twilight Trio.

Hm... Sora is now in a dazed state more similar to Ven and Kairi now. Just a heads up. :D

Er... Oh yes, It seems Roxas didn't get the 'secret' part of the information Aqua told them. XD

Alright, that's all I gots this week! I'll update the side story soon too btw!

Later~! NEXT UPDATE WILL BE ...**Soon**!

For A little preview...

-Sora & Roxas's real adventure will start next chapter!

-TAV trios adventure also begins, with a slight twist than their original journey

-Roxas just might catch a glimpse of a dread headed wild man... Hmmm who is that? 8D


	16. Not So Bad After All

_**A/N:**_ *dies from her own lack of updates* 1) I hope college gets a little less busy... and 2) Action block! 8D

But seriously, I hope to never go this long without updating. I was quite disappointed in myself if took me the whole summer to write it. But believe me, I have never been so busy in a summer EVER. D8 It was so weird. X_X

**As for the polls! I closed it a few days ago and here are the results!**

1. The Nightmare Before Christmas

2. Lilo & Stitch

3. Sleeping Beauty

4. Alice in Wonderland

Congrats! And I will try to use all of them... I'm not sure what people wants me to do with Sleeping Beauty... but maybe I can figure something out. Now then, for the next poll!

**New: Who would you want the twins to encounter first? Leon and Gang? Or Lea and Isa?**

XD I have a feeling I know who will win.. but remember, I somehow plan for them to end up running into both... but who do you want to see first?

Thanks for the help **AngelOfLostLight**(super beta!) and **CrimsonDarkness 0013**(super plot assistant!)!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too...

* * *

**Not So Bad After All**

_Riku sat alone on the strangely curved Paopu tree, looking out into the sea, only blinking occasionally. The say Sora, Roxas, Kairi and Naminé left, there was a huge monster attack; or so he heard. He happened to be fishing far off with his dad the morning it occurred._

_When he got back, everything was in disarray and everyone was in panic. But most worrisome, no one knew what happened to his friends. He could only guess they got away okay and were probably out there exploring a new world already._

_"...I want to go on an adventure too." He said to himself quietly._

* * *

"A train!" Roxas called as the tram rolled by under the bridge they walked on. He had seen many things that were never seen on the island. Tall buildings, trains, and big mansions. But the strangest of all, there was no sand; none, nada, zip. For Roxas, it was almost uncomfortable not to have grains of sand slipping into his sandals after his every step.

"Yes, yes. It's just a train. It's been there since forever." Hayner replied, getting a bit annoyed by Roxas's random and obvious outbursts.

"...But this is my first time seeing one in real-life and not inside the TV..." He said in a daze as the train went by them. Making a show of sighing and huffing, Hayner impatiently strolled behind him before pushing him and Sora forward faster.

"We don't have time to watch the slow train go by! We have to take you to the Secret Spot before those monster guys come back." Hayner insisted.

"Hayner, don't be so pushy." Olette commented, looking behind them for the monsters from before.

"We haven't seen any of those monsters since we escaped from the haunted forest." Pence added.

Presumably ignoring them, Hayner continued to push the twins forward to the hide out location undeterred.

* * *

"So there's darkness in my heart..." Terra thought aloud, sitting on the lowest steps of the castle alone. Apparently, that darkness was the only thing that prevented him from becoming a Keyblade Master and why Aqua was given the title instead.

"So what if there is... I have the power to withstand that darkness." He continued, still angered by his failure. Eventually his own thought brought him back to a conversation he dreaded remembering. Especially now that he realized how true it was.

Then, he denied everything with ease; he hadn't even considered his words to be slightly true. But now, there was nothing he could think of that would make them false.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_"Haven't you done enough already?" He shouted. He was after the twins, no mistaking that. He opened his eyes and looked at Xehanort with all the anger he could muster. The smirk on Xehanort's face remained as he casually summoned his Keyblade._

_"Let the test begin." He remarked._

_"Test?" Terra questioned, feeling more angered. He knew he wouldn't win if Xehanort became too serious, but he also knew there was no way this could only be considered a 'test' of all things. He wasn't that weak. As if reading his thoughts, Xehanort's smirk seemed to darken as his eyes remained trained on him._

_"Yes, a test. A test to determine how powerful the darkness in your heart has become."_

_"Darkness in my heart?" Terra repeated more to himself._

_"That is right." He confirmed. "You have power; you have no need to fear the darkness." Frowning, Terra gripped his blade tighter and fell back into a fighting stance once more._

_"If you're trying to confuse me, it won't work." Terra stated firmly, though Xehanort ignored him._

_"Eraqus will never accept that darkness." He continued taking Terra by surprise from his words as Xehanort began walking towards him casually. "As long as he sticks to his principles... who knows when you'll become a master?"_

_"I don't have any darkness in my heart!" Terra denied as Xehanort approached. Of course he knew everyone had darkness in their hearts, but there was no way he was going to use it like Xehanort was suggesting._

_"Oh, but you do." Xehanort insisted, walking past him calmly and stopping not too far behind Terra. "And you are fine just the way you are." Feeling stalled for time, Terra abruptly shot forward towards Xehanort, whose back was still turned._

_"You do not need to erase your darkness," Xehanort stated, seemingly unaware as he casually turned around, easily blocking Terra's Keyblade with little effort. "...Just simply use it to increase your power." He finished with a smirk reforming across his lips._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Pausing for a long moment, Terra eventually shook his head in attempt to clear his thoughts, so it seemed these thoughts were already attached to deep into his mind.

What was he supposed to believe now? If his darkness was going to prevent him from becoming a master, how could he get rid of it? Xehanort said he was fine the way he was, but why would he believe anything he said anyway? Xehanort was the enemy.

Terra had only a few more moments of peace before the alert bell sounded, easily shaking him out of his thoughtful daze. Standing up with a bit of confusion, he paused for only a moment before hurriedly making his way back into the castle.

* * *

"And here we are!" Hayner announced proudly, opening his arms wide to display their small space at the end of an alley. Located inside was what seemed to be a few piles of junk and a couch; Roxas wasn't all that impressed.

"Cool huh?" Hayner continued.

"Well... on my world, we have a secret hide out too..." Roxas replied quietly. Though he didn't say much else, he already attracted the attention of the trio.

"What's it like?" Olette asked curiously.

"Well..." Roxas, began, taking a glance at the spaced out Sora. "I'm not supposed to say. It's a secret."

"But it's not a secret anymore because you just told us about it." Pence tried. Realizing his mistake, Roxas looked at the three standing in front of him a little suspicious.

"...If I tell you what it's like, you can't tell anybody else. Okay?" Roxas confirmed. "Only me and Sora and our friends know about it."

"Well... we're your friends now too right?" Pence assured, backed up by vigorous nods from Hayner and Olette. A bit surprised, Roxas simply blinked at them a few times before responding.

"We're friends already?"

"Of course we're friends already! We even helped you save your brother." Hayner insisted. "And that means you have to tell us about your secret clubhouse." He was going to continue on his rant about other things he had to tell them but quieted when Olette gave him a half glare, though both were interrupted when Roxas began to chuckle quietly.

"Okay!" He emphasized with a short nod. "Since you guys are friends now, I'll tell you." Though, just as Roxas opened his mouth to continue, he was rudely interrupted by his own stomach growing viciously. They all stood there in an awkward silence for a few moments before childish laughter engulfed the small hidden area, eliciting a small embarrassed blush from Roxas.

"You should have told us you were hungry, Roxas!" Olette informed after calming from her laughter, though Hayner was still laughing strongly.

"Sorry... I didn't know I was so hungry..." He replied quietly, poking his stomach a bit.

"Well, we'll go get you and Sora something to eat first. Then when we get back, you have to tell us about your secret clubhouse." Pence added.

"... Okay. But why can't I go?" Roxas asked curiously, looking back up at them hopefully. From what he had seen on his walk, Twilight Town was much bigger than their island. And there were also much cooler things to see, he was sure.

"No no no Roxas!" Hayner interrupted after he finally stopped laughing, almost glaring at Roxas, much to his confusion. "If you go out there, the bad guy that kidnapped Sora and those monsters might find you! And I don't feel like dragging your brother everywhere, so you have to stay here and watch him." He finished. Olette turned to him to scold him for being so mean, but he was already half way through the exit.

"Nobody knows about this place but us, so don't worry!" He yelled over his shoulder as he ran. Olette and Pence not too far behind.

"We'll be right back Roxas!" Olette assured, making sure the curtain was back in place before Roxas could hear her feet catching up with the others.

Sighing, knowing they were already gone, Roxas turned to Sora sadly, but found no one there. Confused and a bit panicked, he looked around the space frantically, eventually finding him sitting on the couch, still seemingly not himself. Wondering how he moved there, Roxas approached him slowly squatting down in front of him to look him in his eyes again, finding them the same as before; hazy, dull, and uncharacteristically blank.

After a few more waves directly in his face with no response, Roxas took to snapping and clapping, still only resulting in one very slow blink. Lost on what to do next, he simply huffed, plopping down on the lumpy couch next to Sora as he gave the Secret Spot another look over.

"Sora... I think our secret clubhouse is cooler." Roxas announced, hoping for something in response but only got stillness and silence. Waiting in silence impatiently, Roxas simply kicked his feet as he sat, continuing to give the space a look over, occasionally glancing at Sora.

Becoming uncomfortable in the unnatural silence, Roxas shot up from the couch once more, moving to stand in-front of Sora, promptly grabbing his shoulders and giving him a few shakes.

"Sora! What's wrong?" Roxas asked, tone laced with worry and confusion. Before, not only were Sora's eyes different, but he still talked. He didn't talk out loud for Venny or their mother to hear, but most of time, Sora also spoke to Roxas. Now, Sora hadn't said a word since he rescued him or after he woke up.

Releasing Sora with a small huff, Roxas plopped onto the ground in front of him, giving the dull, small space another look over with a small bored sigh. Though the silence was once again interrupted by his growling stomach.

* * *

"Hayner! We're supposed to be getting Roxas and Sora ice cream to eat!" Olette complained in a whisper as she hid unwillingly behind a building.

"SHHH! We're going to! But first, we have to catch Seifer doing something bad! You know he's going to!" He insisted, looking over as Seifer walked with Rai and Fuu with overly suspicious squinted eyes.

"Well, you can watch them and tell us about it later, and we'll get them something to eat. They were probably locked in that mansion forever you know. They're probably really hungry." Pence reasoned.

"You only say that because you're hungry too, I bet you'll just eat their food before they even get it!" Hayner replied, not even turning to look at them. "And you too have to stay as my back-up. As soon as we catch them, we've gotta tell a grown-up right away!" He continued, only earning sighs from his friends.

* * *

It seemed everything was just going down hill. He didn't even know how he was able to lay there on the bed with everything going on. It was a miracle he hadn't already gotten impatient and was able to simply swing the wooden Keyblade hand-me-down without letting his frustration break the window ever so close.

First, Xehanort returned and made a quick mess of everything normal. Then, Sora was taken, Roxas soon after, and now it seemed the tension only increased now that Terra failed his exam. Everything seemed to be breaking into fragments and pieces.

Swinging the wooden blade a few more times, Ven finally stopped just to look at it sadly with a sigh. Observing it for only a moment longer, he was interrupted by the alert bell, one that was usually used only for emergencies. Shooting up from the bed, he hastily made his way to the door.

"Hurry up, Venny."

Stopping in first surprise, but then recognition, Ven slowly turned his head to the other person responsible for all his recent troubles.

"You don't want to be late again, do you?"

"You!" Ven acknowledged, surprised, yet slightly angered.

"Yes me." Vanitas replied smoothly, leaning again a table in the room as if it were a normal everyday visit.

"Where are Roxas and Sora?" Ven questioned immediately, not even paying attention to his earlier remark, turning full to face him.

"Your brothers aren't the ones you should be worrying about." He replied simply. "Besides, we set them free. Just like little birds trapped in a cage finally free for their own little adventures."

"What did you do to them?" He asked quickly, not liking that he was relating them to birds. Though he only earned a chuckle in return.

"I just said it didn't I?" Vanitas answered. "We let them go. And now, they are on some random world, doing whatever they want and going wherever they please. But like I said before, it isn't your brothers you should be worrying about." He repeated darkly as the alert bell stopped sounding.

"You won't see Terra ever again." He claimed, still leaning against the table like it was a normal day.

"Huh?" Ven supplied, not expecting him to say such. "What are you talking about? Of course I'll see Terra again!"

"Follow Terra and you'll see for yourself." He retorted easily, turning to Ven finally. "How Terra won't be Terra anymore."

"I don't know who you think you are, but you don't know anything about Terra!" Ven retaliated, gripping the wooden Keyblade tighter, staring at him angrily. Not only was he insulting his brothers, but now his best friend.

"If you keep badmouthing him, I'll get real mad! Not that I'm already not." He added to assure his displeasure, moving to fighting stance with his false Keyblade.

"How stupid." Vanitas replied, pushing off of the table as he walked forward. "Is that what they call friendship? Family?" He paused before turning to Ven as he continued. "You won't know the truth unless you see for yourself. After all, how can you understand anything if you stay cooped up on these small little worlds you call 'homes'." He finished, immediately stepping through a portal before Ven could even respond.

Left confused and realizing he let him get away, he sighed disappointed. It seemed he just wasn't thinking very clearly to let such an opportunity get away. Perking up quickly, Ven hurriedly left his room, intent on finding out what Vanitas was hinting at.

Running through the castle without a second thought, he eventually made it outside, already spotting Terra, leaving it seemed, adding to mental chaos.

"Terra!" He called instantly, getting his attention as he finally caught up to him, breathing heavily as he caught his breath. It seemed he really was going, but where and why were his main inquiries. Standing straight up, Ven looked up to him for answers, though was surprised when Terra suddenly ruffled his hair.

"I'm fine." He responded without question. Giving him a quick smile, Terra put some distance between them as he turned. Also preparing to leave, Aqua stepped outside, but paused as she saw Ven and Terra below, seemingly just finishing a conversation.

Raising a hand with purpose, Terra suddenly jammed a closed fist to his shoulder plate, glowing for a moment before the shine faded, revealing him to be in red, gold, and dark bronze armor.

With a concentrated stroke, Terra raised his blade skyward, shooting a beam into the space above them and opening a passage. Launching his Keyblade in the air, it gave a flash of light before returning as his rider that somewhat resembled his armor in color. Quick to mount on, he aimed it up before launching full speed into his portal.

Watching him depart, Ven gave a disappointed sigh. He was sure his leaving had something to do with his test and whatever the emergency alert was for that he missed. He also had a feeling it had to do with his brothers and he couldn't shake the feeling it had something to do with Vanitas and Master Xehanort too.

With new resolve and anxiety, Ven looked to his own shoulder plate, immediately slapping it, activating his silver blue, gold and black armor all the same. Having been watching them quietly from not to far, Aqua gasped in surprise at Ven's sudden actions, rushing forward as he activated his rider and jumped on.

"Wait, Ven!" She called, though it was unheard as he shot up.

"We must stop Ven!" Master Eraqus declared, quickly coming up next to Aqua as they watched him leave via the same portal Terra did.

"Bring Ven back." Eraqus ordered sternly, turning to Aqua with urgency.

"You have my word." Aqua responded, giving a serious slight nod, going forward a bit before tapping her arm plate.

Light erupted as expected, soon revealing her armor with various shades of darker blue. Flicking her Keyblade up, her rider activated quickly, mounting herself on as it returned before departing as well.

* * *

Still waiting impatiently, Roxas sat uncomfortably, trying desperately to think of anything other than food, but just the thought of needing to forget about food made him remember food again, earning a new growl from his stomach with every imaginative crumb.

Grumbling in irritation, Roxas turned his attention to their 'secret' entrance once more. It felt like they had been gone for forever, though it had only been a few hours. Sighing again in boredom and hunger still, Roxas turned his head back to Sora, finding him still the same way he was before, not himself. Finding nothing better to do with himself at the moment, Roxas slowly got up onto his knees, again in front of Sora.

Tilting his head slightly, he looked into his eyes again trying to catch his attention, though they still stared into nothing. Trying something new, Roxas slowly pointed a finger towards his eye, willing him to blink or do something other than sit there.

"... Bad."

"...What?" Roxas returned in surprise, halting his attempts to get Sora's attention. Looking at his eyes now, while they were still blank and hazy, they seemed to be focused on his now. "Sora, what's bad?" He questioned, excited he finally got a response, even if it were only barely a whisper. But Sora's only answer was more focused staring.

"Sora?" Roxas inquired, trying to get him to say more after a few minutes of silence. Before he was able to do much more, he directed his attention back to the entrance as footsteps approached. After all this time waiting in hunger, it seemed Hayner, Pence, and Olette finally returned and hopefully with food.

Roxas stood eagerly as their footsteps came closer, but got the strange feeling to stay where he was with Sora. He wanted to run to the door way and question what took them so long, but walking to far from Sora just felt like a really 'bad' idea. Looking back at Sora again, Roxas was surprised to find Sora looking directly at him still.

"So I see you have found your brother after all." A voice announced, but not Hayner's, Pence's, or Olette's voice at all. Not only wasn't it any of their voices, but this voice sounded very familiar. Startled by recognition, Roxas looked away from Sora's unfocused eyes to meet with the same golden yellow eyes that belonged to the same old man he met in the place with dark hallways. Still with his strange smile, the man walked in calmly, stopping not to far from him and Sora, looking down at them with his sharp gaze.

"Congratulations Roxas. I suppose you are relieved now?" He asked with concern. Stupefied by his appearance, Roxas only nodded slowly as he met the man's observing eyes. "Don't I get a thank you?" He continued, concerned expression returning to a smirk.

"T-thank you." He quickly stuttered, though his thanks only earned him a sudden chill, a bad chill. The man's smirk spread farther across his lips as he watched them, though it seemed his expression soon turned to concern again.

"Are you sure you and your brother are okay Roxas? After all, you know you are not on your own world right?" He informed.

"I-I know... we're on a different world right?"

"Of course." He answered with a kind smile. "But if you stay here, you won't be able to go home."

"W-we can't go home? But Venny came home before when he went to a different world." He argued, though quickly quieted as his eyes stayed locked on the man's.

"I didn't say never, did I?" He replied with a returning grin.

"... Can you take us home?" Roxas questioned, seeing as it seemed the man could go anywhere he wanted. Suddenly, the man's expression turned solemn.

"Unfortunately I cannot Roxas." He remarked, smiling again as Roxas visibly deflated. "But don't be discouraged, boy." He explained as another dark portal formed to his side, looking just like the one that helped him find Sora. Just looking at it made his chill return, and he took a step even closer to Sora.

"I cannot take you directly home, since it is so far away from here." He continued, as if truly disappointed. "But, I have made many of these portals on all the worlds I've been to. All you and your brother have to do... is go through each one... and eventually, you will get to the last one, that will take you to where you belong." He finished, his smirk still evident.

"... They will?" Roxas said, unsure as he looked into the inky blackness of the door, completely hiding what was on the other side.

"Of course." The man assured.

"... You promise?" Roxas asked again, turning doubtful blue eyes to golden ones.

"You trust me... don't you?" He responded, the 'kind' smile returning to his lips. Quiet with contemplation, Roxas observed the man. Not only did the man help him find his brother, but he was also going to help them return home. Normally, Roxas wouldn't mind having someone like him help, but there was the chill he had now, that feeling alone he felt he couldn't ignore.

Looking back to Sora, Roxas found he was looking away again, staring down at nothing. Roxas wondered if he had really said anything at all or had really looked at him at that time.

"Well?" The man's voice interrupted, bringing Roxas's eyes back on his own only to be followed by another pause.

"...Yes." Roxas answered eventually, obviously still unsure, but willing to accept even when the bad feeling returned stronger, insisting he reply no. To his surprise, the man did nothing by smirk even wider before turning to enter the portal himself, though even after he left, the 'door' remained open just for them.

Staring at the portal for a moment, Roxas turned to Sora before helping him up from the couch as they faced the portal together.

"... Sora, do you think these will really take us home?" He questioned, though knew not to expect an answer. Taking an encouraging gulp with a deep breath, Roxas secretly grasped Sora's arm before slightly pulling him towards the 'door' with him. To focused on his new destination, he failed to notice the slight resistance he was receiving from his brother before they both were swallowed by darkness, bound to take them somewhere new as it quickly dissipated behind them.

* * *

_"I bet they left! We took to long!" Olette complained, holding some ice-creams for their new friends that were bound to have died of hunger now. _

_"No they didn't. I bet they were too scared to leave because of the monsters." Hayner denied, also holding a few ice-creams._

_"I don't know... we were gone for hours." Pence replied, looking at the now setting sky painted by gold and pink as the sun set behind some buildings._

_"They didn't leave!" Hayner shouted again, quickly rushing into their hideout to prove his point, but was met with emptiness._

_"... So they really did leave." Olette announce, a bit saddened as she also came into emptiness._

_"... Where did they go though?" Pence questioned aloud. Surely they would have met them on the way back if they really did leave._

* * *

Like the first time he entered one of the portals, he was met with complete darkness, though this time Sora was with him and the next 'door' was right ahead of them this time. Not wasting any time, he continues forward with purpose, Sora now willingly trailing behind but noticeably not himself.

Without a qualm, they both stepped through the portal followed by a surprised gasp from Roxas. He looked around curiously, finding they really were somewhere really different than Twilight Town or Destiny Islands. They now appeared to big in a really big wooden house, but he assumed no one lived there anymore given there was grass growing in some places and things thrown all about.

"You would get in really big trouble if you let your side of the room get like this Sora." He noted, turning a bit to see a window not too far from them, proceeding carefully over to look out. Looking up, he saw a usual blue cloudy sky, but looking down, all he saw was trees and more grass and that they were very, very far up.

"... Sora, I think we're in a big tree house!" He remarked, beckoning Sora closer with the wave of the arm, too distracted to notice Sora did come closer, and was paying no attention to outside the window. "I think this place might be better than our secret clubhouse... if It weren't so messy" With a sigh, Roxas brought his attention back inside, looking around the area once more, though paused abruptly as his eyes targeted a different portal across the way.

"Look! There's the next one!" He announced, carefully walking across the area with Sora trailing again. "I didn't think it would be this easy." He added happily. As they walked along, the sound of creaking wooden boards echoed through the large tree house along with the added shuffling of their sandals.

Nearly halfway to their next destination, Roxas paused in bewilderment before looking back at Sora who had stopped noticeably when his footsteps no longer added to the echo of the space.

"What are you doing Sora?" Somewhat annoyed, Roxas walked back the short distance towards him, though paused again when what looked like a tail suddenly dropped down was a wag before disappearing up again.

Curious, Roxas followed the tail straight up, finding a 'cheetah' there right above them, looking down at them with yellow eyes.

"...Look Sora. There's a cheetah…" He announced in astonishment, taking a step closer to Sora, though still eying it. Like a switch, the 'cheetah' suddenly growled just as his step echoed through the house. Frightened, Roxas turned and took another step backwards toward Sora, watching as the 'cheetah' suddenly leaned forward with its teeth showing threateningly.

Alarmed, Roxas took no hesitation to unleash a panicked scream, blindly grabbing for Sora's arm and rushing forward just as the 'cheetah' nearly pounced down on them. Eyes focused on their door towards home, Roxas dragged Sora behind him, too afraid to look back at the 'cheetah' that was bound to eat them if they didn't get away.

Skidding to a stop in horror, he nearly fell over as Sora bumped into the back of him. The 'cheetah' slyly blocked the door to their escape, growling viciously still, nearly causing Roxas to stumble backwards in terror. Not even giving him a moment to think, the 'cheetah' leaped for them again.

Screaming again, Roxas put his arms up defensively with his eyes squeezed shut and brother behind, wondering what it felt like to be eaten by a 'cheetah' being the main thought on his mind. Anxiously waiting to be swallowed whole, he only gasped as he heard sudden scrambling and glass breaking, opening to see if the 'cheetah' was still coming at him, but it was gone. Confused, he looked about the space, finding one of the windows not to far away was newly broken.

Still shaken, Roxas eyed the rest of the tree house for the 'cheetah', looking up above them again to see if maybe it were waiting to eat them from above, but it seemed it was really gone. Anxious to leave, Roxas hastily grabbed Sora's arm again walking quickly to the portal that would eventually take them home. He hoped all the worlds didn't have 'cheetahs' and monsters that wanted to eat them.

* * *

_Play the Tape First Before Rewinding_

Yes, I know it's not a cheetah. But whose to say a 5 year old can tell the difference? XD

So... the adventure begins for everyone. 8D Which I won't say is good or bad because that would mess up the fun!

Hm... what else did I have to say... Uh... oh yeah. It seems Roxas is indeed confused on the trust thing. Eh eh? 8D

Later...! *hopes the next can be written and out faster* Oh, and please know, I will **NEVER STOP WRITING UNLESS I DIE**. U_U That is all. I love my newborn fic baby and I like writing it, believe me. XD Time is the only evil holding me back, but I WILL update this. 8D Hopefully sooner next time. . I was dying trying to finish this chapter. XD


	17. Spots

_**A/N:**_

_**PLEASE READ!**_

-Okay... update... but this chapter still isn't finished I'm sure you'll find. D8 I honestly couldn't take not updating much longer...so I give you the incomplete chapter. I don't know what it is, but I feel lately my writing is terrible. Fragmented sentences, terrible grammar, sucky punctuation, darn elementary vocabulary... I just don't know. D8 I think writing college college papers ruined whatever small writing style I had in the first place... But I hope the more I write, the better it'll come out. And this is **UNBETA-ed**, so there are probably many errors... but, no. I am NOT on hiatus. XD Or anything like that... I'm just really really slow...

On a better note, as soon as I have this chapter finished, I'll delete this and reupdate. I also hope I'll have the next chapter out at the same time... So, have fun reading the short crappiness! XD

Remember readers! Vote on that poll available on my profile! **Who would you want the twins to encounter first? Leon and Gang? Or Lea and Isa? Or the same time?**

So far, at the same time is winning out. But when you guys say _'at the same time'_ do you mean one after the other? Or literally somehow in the same place? XD

Thanks for the help **AngelOfLostLight**(super beta!) and **CrimsonDarkness 0013**(super plot assistant!)!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too...

* * *

**Spots**

Something had to be here. The unversed were everywhere. While they were easy to take care of, some were quick annoying. Especially when he had to chase one. It wasn't too long before he finally caught up the monster, swinging his keyblade down on it harshly just as it decided to stop running.

Feeling accomplished, he huffed before standing up, but looking not too far in the distance, a large elegant castle stood as if welcoming.

* * *

Roxas breathed heavily as he continued running forward, half dragging Sora along with him. After escaping from the strange tree-house with the man eating 'cheetahs' through the specified door, Roxas expected the next one to be close like before, but it was much farther than the last one was.

It was creepy being in the pitch blackness between the doors with nothing around but Sora and himself. Every now and then, he swore he saw something moving on the edge of his vision, but actually looking over, he only spotted nothing and more darkness.

Focusing ahead, it seemed the next door was just as far away as when he and Sora first escaped. Even though they had been running for a long time, it never seemed to be getting any closer. Tired and afraid, Roxas slowed down to a stop trying to catch his breath, knowing his brother was still behind him as he bumped into him from behind, though he was focused on the door that they couldn't seem to catch.

* * *

So far, no good. He didn't know exactly what the name of the world he was on was called, but he was sure Terra had to be around here somewhere. Maybe even Roxas and Sora, but that was just wishful thinking. After walking for a little while, he came to a stop as he thought he heard something. Looking about in question, he eventually looked down from the cliff not too far from him, finding a group of people walking.

Strangely enough, they all looked like they were carrying pick axes. And... they looked to be even shorter than himself, even though some appeared to have beard and white hair like old people. Curious, Ven quickly rushed to the other side as they continued to what looked like a cave opening of some sort. Rightly assuming they were inhabitants of this world, Ven quickly found his way down the cliff to follow.

* * *

After what felt like another forever longer, they were finally close to the next door closer to home. Huffing tiredly, Roxas looked behind himself again, finding Sora was still following by himself now, looking just as exhausted as he was. Turning about, Roxas allowed as small smile to cross his lips and the door was really right there now, speeding up a bit as they finally ran straight though.

Before either of them could get a good glance at their surroundings, both both suddenly pitched forward with small surprised gasps before landing in a cold muddy puddle. Giving a shiver, Roxas sat up, sputtering water as Sora did as well. Confused, Roxas looked about them, finding they weren't home, but just in another place they didn't know. Looking around a bit more, he also noticed some strange looking cars, like old ones you would see in cartoons.

Trembling from the frigid air and muddy wetness, Roxas heaved a sigh before turning to Sora to help him up though stopped as they were suddenly spotlighted. Confused and horrified, Roxas and Sora both swiveled there head to the light, finding two blaring lights right in front of them and seemed to be coming closer and fast.

"... C-car." Sora spoke quietly. Taking a quick glance at Sora and back, it did seem like a car coming at them, even the sounds it made were just like one. But there was no way Roxas and Sora could move out of the way fast enough. Giving a yell, Roxas squeezed his eyes shut, knowing being run over by a car wouldn't feel good at all.

He was sure the car would run over them in just seconds now, but nearly choked as he was tugged backwards roughly. Bewildered, he snapped open his eyes just as the car flew past, only inches away from squishing him under the furiously spinning tires. He sputtered again as he was suddenly splashed with more water from the puddle he and Sora were just soaking in.

Baffled, Roxas looked over as she car crazily sped off around the corner. Giving a shaky sigh, he looked back to the puddle for a long pause, but grew slightly panicked that Sora wasn't around. Growing fearful, he quickly looked around himself, though grew still as he say Sora sitting not too far from him. Looking over a bit more, Roxas also saw a wet dog. Before he could say much, he startled suddenly as something wet rubbed against his neck, jerking his head around to find another wet dog looking at him curiously. Both the dogs had lots of black spots covering their white fur. They both also had collars it seemed, though one was red and the other blue.

"Anita, I'm telling you there's something wrong with her." A man's voice suddenly spoke along with a sound of running shoes. Shaken, Roxas turned his head more to find a man and a woman rushing up to them looking almost as shaken as he did. "She almost ran the poor little kids over!" He exclaimed lowly, squatting down behind them with the dogs.

"Maybe... she just didn't see them? It's rainy and dark Roger." She tried, also kneeling down with an umbrella in hand looking at Roxas and Sora with concern. "Are you boys alright?" She asked as she reached into her pocket, taking out a small handkerchief in attempt to wipe their faces a little, though it only helped to rub in the mud more to some degree. Looking over to the man, Roxas noted he didn't really looked convinced at her explanation.

"What are you two doing out so late by yourselves?" He questioned. They both looked no older than five. He and Anita had just left to give the dogs a quick walk as an excuse to dismiss her 'friend' Cruella De Vil, but the first thing they see are two young boys apparently tripping right into a puddle and potential road kill. If they hadn't let the dogs off the leash fast enough, he's not sure they would be alive right now.

"... W-we're lost." Roxas replied in a quiet shaky voice, looking between the couple and the dogs he realized he saw often with firefighters.

"You're lost?" Anita spoke again with a worried expression, looking over to Sora now as she heard sniffling, finding he was on the verge of tears.

"We just want to go home." Roxas added, just as teary as Sora was. "But n-none of the doors took us home yet." He stuttered with a whine. Confused, Anita and Roger looked to each other before giving a mutual nod as each reached down to help the boys up.

"Now now... I'm sure your mother … or father probably told you big boys don't cry right?" Roger soothed, patting them both upon their wet hair in attempt to calm them.

"How about this you two." Anita spoke, pulling them both closer to her in a slight hold. "How about you come with Roger and I to our house. Then you can get all cleaned up and have a nice rest before we try looking for your house in the morning." Pulling them a little closer, she rubbed their wet backs a little to warm them up.

After a quiet moment filled with soft sniffling, both eventually agreed with small nods. With a comforting smile, Anita picked up Sora, motioning Roger to do the same with Roxas before turning back home. It seemed the dogs would have to have a walk later.

* * *

Eager, Ven finally made it down the cliffs, though not without encountering many unversed. Their appearance alone was worrisome, yet somehow reassuring, given his brothers and Terra just might be on this world. Rushing up to the small cave entrance, Ven didn't have to duck at all while entering. Inside, the cave was very spacious and the walls seemed to be littered with shining jewels and rocks.

* * *

"Our mommy let us take out own baths." Roxas informed in the tub as Anita scrubbed his hair still caked with some mud here and there.

"Does she?" She replied absently.

"Yeah. She watches us to make sure we get clean though." He added with a nod. "And when Venny is home, then he makes sure we get clean."

"Who is Venny?" She asked as she moved onto Sora with the soap and began to scrub him."

"Venny is our big brother." He responded absently while he played with the lose wet stands of his hair that were in his face. Humming in interest, Anita continued to wash Sora up, who she found strangely quiet in comparison to his brother. Twin brothers she realized now that they were mostly free of mud and in the light.

"Where is your big brother?" She looked back to the Roxas curiously as he continued to play with his hair and shrug.

"We haven't seen him and mommy..." He replied quietly, fondling with his hair all the same. She frowned a little as she tried to figure out the twin boys predicament. Finishing up, she carefully got a bowl and poured cleaned water over them to rinse their hair and the rest of their bodies.

"All clean. Now we just dry you off..." She trailed off as she reached behind herself for the towel waiting on the toilet seat, drying them off carefully. "And then, you both can come and eat dinner." Right on cue, both the boys stomachs suddenly growled viciously. Both boys blushed, even the quiet one. Chuckling quietly, she quickly helped them put on oversized pajamas that belonged to Roger, but they needed something to wear.

"We'll have your clothes all washed up for you tomorrow, but for now, this should do." She added, rolling up the legs and sleeves for them. When the only response she got was a nod from the blond one, she figured it would be a good time to ask of their names.

"My name is Anita. And the man you saw earlier is Roger. What are your names?" She questioned, looking to them both.

"... I'm Roxas. And this is Sora."

"Well.. I was hoping your brother would tell me his name himself." She waited patiently looking at the young boy named Sora, waiting for him to speak up.

"... He won't say anything." Roxas spoke up eventually, obviously a little nervous. Assuming they were both probably just a little shy, Anita smiled kindly before standing up.

"Maybe you both just need some warm soup before getting some rest." She announced, gently taking their hands as she lead them out of the bathroom.

* * *

Rewind... Wait, You can't Rewind Discs!

-So, there is the incompleteness. Mainly Terra and Ven's part, plus I have to end Roxas and Sora's part, and right some on Aqua... *sigh*

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this less than 3,000 piece! I hope to have it full to you soon!

Later~


	18. Mouse I Am Not

**A.N:**

Hello everyone! I'm here today to bring you another chapter! This chapter is currently unbeta'd and a beta'd chapter will be put up later. (Though I did manage to get someone to take a good critical look at it for now) More information in the author notes below!

Thanks for the help **AngelOfLostLight**(super beta!) and **CrimsonDarkness 0013**(super plot assistant!)!

Disclaimer: I only own the story people. And if there are any OC's, I guess I'll own them too...

* * *

"Does the food taste good?" Anita asked. She sat across the table from the two boys herself and her husband found only hours ago alone and wet out on the pavement. She smiled a little as both boys nodded eagerly; they were starting to open up to them at last. "Well, don't rush. We have plenty of time, and there's more where that came from."

"They can't each too much. It's almost time for them to get some sleep. After all, we all have a big day tomorrow hm?" Roger reminded. Tomorrow, they'd go around town and figure out where the boys' father and mother lived to return them home safely. He knew it would be a long day though, since neither of them had idea where they were meant to be.

An hour passed before Anita had the two tucked in on a mattress for them to sleep on for the night.

"If you need anything, Roger and I are right next door. Ok?" After getting a nod out of the both of them, she made sure they were tucked in tight once more before standing up and cracking the door to their room, not sure if they were still afraid of the dark as she was as a child.

* * *

A beautiful, yet devilish woman walked carefully up a few steps, eyes focused on a mirror that hung alone on a far wall with an elegant frame. Stopping, she raised her hands, motioning to the mirror as if she were casting a spell.

""Spirit of the mirror, come from the farthest space, through wind and darkness! I summon thee! Speak!" She shouted, staring at the fire that danced on the surface of the mirror.

"Show me thy face." She continued calmly. Not even a moment later, a mask like face faded into view, looking at the woman with empty black sockets as it floated in its abyss.

"What must thy know my queen?" The face responded respectfully, though its expression was solemn.

"Magic mirror on the wall... tell me... who is the fairest one of all." She answered, confidently crossing her arms as she awaited an answer.

"Fair is your beauty my majesty... but oh... a lovely maid I see." Staring at her for a moment to let the information sink in. "Alas she is more fair than thee." Angered, the queen paused to contain herself.

"Reveal her name to me." She demanded, looking at the mirror intently.

"Lips, red as a rose... hair, black as ebony... skin... white as snow." She gasps after a moment, glaring at nothing in particular as the answer was obvious.

"Snow White..."

"The heart of Snow White doth shine bright, is purer than yours could ever be. But nothing to be concerned with my majesty, she is gone from this world. Her heart is of no threat. Your beauty is now the fairest of them all." The mirror showed no emotion, but the queen smirked happily. She did not know what became of Snow White, but now that she was gone, no one could stand her in way or hope to replace her on her throne.

Little did the queen know, Terra was hiding behind corner listening to what was going on. A mirror... that knows and see's everything. It mentioned one of the princesses of pure hearts, he was sure of it. He was hoping against it, but he was also sure Xehanort was already here to take her away.

"Who goes there?" The queen suddenly shouted, looking right in Terra's direction. Startling some, Terra stood straighter before slowly walking out where she could see him.  
"My name is Terra." He answered, looking at her intently. "I'm looking for a man named Xehanort. Master Xehanort. Have you seen him? I figured you could have..."

"That name is of no consequence to me." She retorted, looking down at him passively. Saying nothing, Terra turned to leave; it seemed that it was too late to help the princess taken from here.

The queen stood there confused, but had a feeling he would not interfere with her rule.

* * *

_"Hm... can't have them staying in one play for long can we?" Xehanort said to himself, calmly opening a portal to the location of where the boys were currently located. To ensure he connects with as many potential hearts as possible, he had to go to as many places as possible._

_If everything went as he wanted, there would be no need for his back up plans, but he would rather be safe than sorry. Smirking some at the portals just created, he created another and proceeded to leave. Plan B's don't implant themselves. Neither do C's or D's._

* * *

Startled from a sudden loud sound, Roxas sat up right on mattress, looking around the dimly lit room for the source. On the wall just a few feet away, a door just as dark and scary as the other awaits them.

"It's a door." A small voice spoke. Looking over, Roxas saw that Sora was awake as well, though he was still laying down tucked in.

"Then we have to go now don't we?" Roxas replied just as quietly, recalling how these doors were the only way they could go back home. Removing the warm covers from his body, Roxas got up carefully looking around again before spotting his clothes. Going over to them, he noticed they were clean and dry again.

He happily removed the big pajamas before grabbing his clothes to put them on, but looked over to Sora again, who was still in bed tucked in.

"... What are you waiting for Sora. We have to go home, remember?" He spoke, going over to the mattress and gently pulling away the covers. "We have to hurry or else we'll miss it." Sora laid there for a few moments more before he slowly sat up at last, getting off the mattress as well and taking off the big pajamas in exchange for his clothes.

It took them only a few minutes before they were dressed in their own clothes again. Roxas began to go to the door, but paused when he noticed Sora wasn't following.

"... What's wrong now Sora?" He asked. He was worried about his brothers' behavior, and he still hasn't talked to him that much. Sora still said nothing, but looked to the mess of big pajamas and unmade bed quietly. It took Roxas only a moment to understand.

"... Mommy always said to say thank you when someone helps you and stuff... you fold the clothes and I'll write a note." Roxas ordered. Nodding slowly, Sora bent down and gathered up the clothes to fold them. Roxas looked around the room for a moment before find a pen and a piece of paper.

Roxas concentrated as he slowly wrote 'Thank You' with the best handwriting he could. Satisfied with is work, he came over and placed the note on the pile of horribly folded clothes for Anita and Roger to see. Looking to his brother again, Roxas pointed to the door awaiting them.

"Ready now Sora?" He asked. Finally receiving a slow nod, they entered the dark portal again, hoping this time the door would take them home.

* * *

Ven walked alone through the forest thoughtfully. None of those short guys had seen Terra around here. Sighing in disappointment, Ven paused in the middle of a small clearing. Taking a last glance around, he noted that the trees looked strangely creepy, as if they could be reaching out to grab someone, but nothing was there to grab but him.

* * *

"_Come on now, we don't want to wake the boys Pongo." Anita complained, pulling him away from the door he was nudging over. Softly whining, Pongo persisted, nudging the door again. Sighing, Anita peeked in to check if they were still asleep, but was confused when neither of the boys was there._

"_Sora? Roxas?" She spoke in alarm, opening the door and going inside to look around, but the boys were no where insight. Looking to the mattress, she spied a badly written 'Thank You' placed on top of the badly folded pajamas she provided for the previous night. She also noted the clothes that they washed for the boys were gone._

_It almost felt like the boys were never here at all if it weren't for their thank you note._

* * *

"Why am I so small?" Ven yelled, rattling the bars of his cage for the fifth time in the past two minutes. Banging his forehead against the bars, he surveyed the room yet again, noting how messy some of it was and how large the furniture was compared to his current size.  
Sighing, he backed away from the bars. Figuring he should use his smarts to get out of here instead of panicking like a mouse, he walked over to where there was an obvious door like contraption. Spotting the latch, he reached out and attempted to lift it and open up the gate, but it was too heavy and he could barely reach it from his position.

"Dang it." He muttered to himself, though startled when some booming voices could suddenly be heard.

"Ha! I knew she would run away. She was useless anyway." A voice shouted happily with mirth.

"I don't know, who is going to do all my chores now? We have to get mother to buy a maid." Another voice responded, sounding quite annoyed.

The door to the room suddenly opened and two girls walked in. They both surveyed the room, noting the mess they left earlier.  
"Urg, we need a maid after all. Stupid Cindere-!" Before the other could finish, her statement was drowned out by the red haired girl with her, who happened to be staring at Ven in his cage.

"A MOUSE! There's a mouse in the cage over there!" She screamed, backing out of the room. The black haired girl gasped loudly before pushing the red haired girl back into the room against her will.

"Quick! Get rid of it!" She screeched, quickly running off and leaving the red haired one alone.

"You get rid of it!" She shouted back, running out of the room after her in fright.

Ven stared dumbly after them, still standing in the cage reaching for the latch. How could they mistake him for a mouse? Sure, he was small, and trapped in a mouse cage, but still. Huffing, he tried harder to lift the latch up but turned his attention to the door again when he saw something big and black creeping inside. Instantly, Ven realized it was a fat cat, coming right for him and licking its lips hungrily. Ven quickly understood the cat believed he was a mouse. A delicious trapped mouse ripe for the picking.

"H-hey! I'm not a mouse you know! I'm human!" He shouted, trying harder to undo the latch. The cat seemed to enjoy his sudden fear, punching onto the cage causing Ven to fall painfully. Ven dodged as quickly as he could when he noticed the cat extending his claws into the cage. Annoyed at his slipperiness, the cat shook the cage again, juggling Ven around.

"S-stop!" Ven yelled, getting dizzier by the moment, but yelped when he suddenly hit the ground, free from the cage at last. Looking up, he noticed the cage latch had opened, probably when the cat was shaking him around. He also noticed that the cat slowly realized Ven was no longer in the cage. Scrambling to his feet, Ven ran as quickly as he could to cover, not unnoticed by the hungry cat. The cat hissed, dropping the cage and quickly chasing after his prey.

Ven ran around the room for a while before the cat grew annoyed, suddenly jumping over in front of Ven, effectively trapping him in a corner. Screeching to a halt, Ven looking around for an escape route, though realized the cat seemed smarter than it appeared, blocking off any chances of escape. Gulping audibly, he turned back to the widely grinning cat.

"Now now kitty... remember, I'm not a mouse!" He reiterated, backing up until he hit the wall. Strangely, the cat released an evil raspy chuckle, raising its paw to deliver the final blow. Ven tensed, instinctively taking out his keyblade to shield himself, but he was sure it wouldn't protect him from being squished from a huge paw.

Ven waited tensely for his demise, though grew confused when the cat suddenly let out a pain filled meow. Opening his eyes, he looked up and saw a few mice tugging at his whiskers, stretching his face into a funny, yet painful looking expression.  
"Quickie! Over here!" A squeaky voice shouted. Ven turned to see another mouse waving him over towards a small mouse hole in the far wall. Recognizing his prey was going to get away, the cat shook furiously, trying to throw off the mice that were holding his whiskers. Taking a chance, Ven rushed to the other mouse as the cat remained distracted.

Noticing Ven was rushing away, the other mice release their hold of the cat's whiskers just as the cat rammed its head into a wall, thoroughly giving them all enough time to get away after making itself dizzy. Once inside, Ven collapsed tiredly and relieved, taking a moment to catch his breath.

"You ok?" The mouse asked, putting out a hand to help Ven up. Taking it gratefully, Ven nodded.

"Yeah, thanks. I thought I would be eaten for sure."

"No problem. Imma Jaq." Jaq furiously shook Ven's hand.

"I-I'm Ven." Ven replied. These mice were much more friendly than the dwarfs he met before.

"Sorry you got stuck in the cage. If Cinderelle was here, she would have helped you out." Jaq explained, though looked strangely sad.

"Cinderelle?" Ven asked curiously, looking to the other mice that also looked downcast. He remembers the women from earlier mentioning someone similar. "Did she run away?" He asked carefully.

"No no! Someone took her!" Jaq shouted. "Cinderelle would never run away!"

"Took her?"

"Yes. There was a black monster thing that showed up one day and swallowed her up!" Jaq paced worriedly. It was then that Ven had an idea of what happened. Darkness came here somehow came here and took this Cinderelle person.

"What was Cinderelle like?" If she were a pure hearted person, maybe Xehanort took her. Or maybe there was someone else who used darkness that took her. Either way, he was sure she was taken through some kind of dark portal of some kind.

"She always pretty and nice. She helped all the mice around here." As Jaq described her, the other mice bobbed their heads in agreement. Putting his hand to his chin in thought, Ven figured that sounded like someone who would have a pure heart wouldn't it? He couldn't be sure, but eventually looked to all the mice again.

"Tell you what. I'll look for your Cinderelle." He announced, bobbing his head. The mice looked at him in surprise. "Well, you guys rescued me from that cat. It's the least I can do. I'm looking for my brothers who were taken in a similar way. I'm sure I'll spot her somewhere." He continued.

"Really?" Jaq inquired. Ven nodded his head once again, causing the other mice to jump for joy. "Thanks Ven-Ven!"

* * *

This was bad he realized. The enemy apparently already had everything planned out before they even realized what was going on. The Princess Aurora was already gone, and from what he understood, she was a Princess of Pure Heart, one of the ones they were on the look out for. Another named Snow White could have also been taken apparently, that's four already.

How many other hearts did Xehanort already have in their grasps? And Maleficent... Terra was sure Xehanort told her of pure hearts and whatever his other plans were, but she revealed nothing about them.

Pausing, he looked back up the stairs he was walking down from. Was there a princess here too? Was she already gone? Did Xehanort have her? He was almost afraid to find out. Everything appeared to be normal, though he had a strange feeling that something important was missing. Resigned, he turned back down the stairs, surprised to see Aqua waiting there.

"Find anything... or anyone?" She asked carefully, watching him as he came down the staircase closer.

"No one in particular... not the twins or the princesses if that's what you mean."

"No... have you seen Ven? He took off right after you." She explained, obviously concerned. She had yet to find a trace of him, and she had hoped Ven had tagged along with Terra.

"What?" Surprised, stopping abruptly in front of her.

"Yes. Master Eraqus sent me to find him and bring him home. He left to go find you. Do you know why?" Terra shook his head after a moment of thought.

"No... but right before I left he did look like he was trying to tell me something..." Remembering Ven's urgency that he blew off, he continued to walk forward. "Maybe I should have listened to him." They both stood in silence for a moment, broken by Aqua's sigh.

"So... you haven't located Master Xehanort yet? Or the kids?"

"No. But I did get some information." He replied, turning back in her direction. "It seems he is looking for pure hearts after all, the ones that the Princesses of Pure Hearts possess... and it seems he already has a few. Including Kairi and Naminé.

"Ven isn't our biggest worry right now though. Xehanort still has his little brothers... and it seems that Xehanort has more than just Kairi and Naminé." He finished, turning back once more and continuing his exit. "There isn't much more to tell, but it seems to me that nothing in this world will be of interest to him... or he has already taken what he wanted."

"... Alright, but I'm going to stay behind to look for more clues here." Aqua responded as she headed up the stairs.

Terra paused again, wanting to tell Aqua of Maleficent and her attempts to tempt him into using his darkness, but decided against it as he continued walking. Nothing good could come out of sharing his weakness. Was his dream really even possible now?

"Aqua." He called out, stopping for a moment.

"Hm?" She answered, halting her advance up the staircase..

"Do you still believe in our dream?" He asked patiently, but anxiously.

"Well... of course." She responded, no hint of doubt in her voice. After a moment of pause, Terra nodded and continued on his way. If she still felt it was possible... maybe he could have some hope still.

* * *

Walking along calmly, Aqua explored the parts of town where she felt the taint of darkness most. It didn't take too long for her to arrive in front of a large house near the outskirts of town. She could definitely feel that a strong darkness was here at one point in time, and some of it still remained inside.

Intent on purifying said darkness, Aqua summoned her keyblade, walking to the door.

"Wait! It is not advised to fight the darkness here with light." A voice suddenly spoke. Surprised, Aqua turned around, looking for the source of the voice, but saw nothing.

"Who's there?" She asked aloud, but turned her attention to an area that was suddenly filled with sparkling dust, quickly forming into an old woman in a hooded blue cape. "... Who are you?"

"I am Cinderella's fairy godmother." She answered, looking troubled.

"Cinderella?"

"Yes. Cinderella. She is the step daughter of Lady Tremaine that lives here. But Cinderella is no longer here. She was taken by darkness, darkness stronger than anything Lady Tremaine and her daughters could ever release."

"... But why would you advise me not to use light to fight the darkness here?" Darkness anywhere was not good, no matter how small. Even worse if it seemed to attract stronger darkness, but why was Cinderella taken?

"Strong rays of sun create dark shadows. That is why darkness came here for Cinderella. Lady Tremaine and her step daughters were jealous of Cinderella's charm and beauty. Qualities that appear to you and others as light. Soon enough, someone came from darkness and snatched Cinderella away, no doubt attracted by her pure untainted heart." As Aqua listened, it was a no brainer what Cinderella could was, she had to be a Princess of Pure Heart, which meant Xehanort had another princess in his grasps. That was three princesses he had to her knowledge. Did he have more?

"Light and dark go hand in hand, you can't have one without the other." The godmother continued, bringing Aqua out of her thoughts.

"Then... what do I do?" Surely she couldn't allow the darkness to sit here and possibly spread.

"There is nothing you can do here my dear." The godmother shook her head sadly, but looked to Aqua with hope. "The most you can do is find Cinderella and return her home." She finished. Nodding, Aqua dismissed her keyblade, turning her full attention to the Fairy Godmother.

"That, I can do." She confirmed. If Cinderella was a Princess of Heart, there was no doubt Aqua would come across her on her journey.

* * *

It took a while to walk through the tunnel, but finally they could see the other side of the door.

"There it is Sora!" Roxas shouted, looking behind him to make sure Sora was close. Satisfied with the small amount of distance, Roxas pushed forward, determined to get to their next destination. He hoped this time they would finally get home.

Soon enough, the twins pushed out of the door way, but immediately crashed into a wall. They both fell to the floor with a short cry of surprise. Disoriented, Roxas slowly stood up just as the door disappeared again, leaving them alone. Realizing they weren't home, Roxas sighed sadly, but soon he gasped loudly as he took in his surroundings.

"Sora... everything is so big!" He shouted, sounding as small and squeaky as a mouse.

* * *

_The Tape Needs Rewinding Still!_

Hello everyone! Long time no see for some of you! If you haven't heard already, I'll be spending this summer writing as many chapters as possible to stock them up so that I can upload them on schedule again. Depending on how many I get done is how frequently I will update.

But, since some people aren't alerted to the other story or to my profile, I needed to let everyone know, so here's a quick update. Thanks CD for checking for uber glaring errors for now. XD

School is... a pain.

Alright so, in this chapter, everyone officially begins their journey. Terra catches on early that Xehanort seems to have more princesses than Kairi and Naminé. He's also hesitant to tell Aqua too much since he isn't sure of everything himself, and he doesn't want her to know that his darkness really might be out of his control, like Master Eraqus thought.

Ven picks up a few tasks himself, but he knows even less than Terra and Aqua do. He tries though. XD

Eh, I think this chapter is pretty bad. I don't know, I don't write like I used to or something. Maybe I'm just imagining things. But I hope you enjoyed it! Remember, a further beta'd chapter will be put up later.


	19. Update! Please Read

Hello DIA followers/favorites/stalkers!

No worries! Again, I'm never dropping this series. ^_^ Always remember that, it might take me a while, but I'll get it done.

That said, this series is in the process of being rewritten. "But NOO! Series with rewrites never get finished!" Well, you don't need to worry about that! Originally, I wasn't going to upload anything from the new one until I'm finished, but people are still favoriting and reading this one.

So, a few notes on why I decided to rewrite.

- I lost the outline to the original DIA multiple times and had to rewrite it. I can see it in my own work, the story had no direction and I was doing too much.

- I cringed every time I went back and read my own work. It was horrible, I'm really hoping the new one is more well written (which I personally think it is)

- I've written the entire outline in detail for the new DIA (even the old one wasn't as detailed) It's about 26 pages all together. So far, I have 35 pages (15000 words) of the new DIA written, and that is about 7/8 pages of the outline. This has taken me 2 months all together. I'm estimating I should be finished writing the entire fic by June/July. Then I will start uploading the rest.

- When I saw rewrite… I mean rewrite. It's not that I went back to old chapters and fixed it up. It's been completely rewritten.

s/9259549/1/

So, yeah, please go and read the new one! Link down below. Also, I have a new poll on my page. I'll be uploading each chapter (estimated at 5000 words so far) once a week. Please let me know which day of the week is best for you!

s/9259549/1/


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